Lagos residents raise the alarm over pedestrian bridge at Charity
We are working at fixing it, says FMWH
LAGOS residents have raised the alarm over the faulty pedestrian bridge at Charity Bus Stop, Lagos, with students of Command Day Secondary School, Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre ( NAFRC), Oshodi, Lagos, now taking a quick dash to cross the OshodiApapa expressway.
Residents demand that the pupils and other pedestrians should be saved from the danger of crossing the road in the morning and after school hours. They are calling on the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to fix the damaged pedestrian bridge, which has been shut by Lagos State Government for safety reasons.
The pedestrian bridge serves students, commuters and officers for years, until recently.
It has been shut for weeks and nothing has been done to repair it, thereby putting the school children and others at risk.
Last week, some students had to walk toward Oshodi Bus Stop, a few metres away after school to cross, while others, who could not walk up to Oshodi bus stop to use the pedestrian bridge, made a quick dash, despite the inherent danger of crossing the busy expressway.
When The Guardian asked one of the military men in front of NAFRC, why the bridge is left unattended, he directed the reporter to the government.
But a fruit vendor near the pedestrian bridge, Onyinye Okafor, expressed displeasure with government’s handling of the issue. “Since the task force shut the pedestrian bridge, no effort has been made by either the state government of Federal government to repair the bridge, ” she said.
Another trader, Titilola Olayiwola said: “Before the pedestrian bridge was shut, I forced my children to use the bridge, but since it was shut I now come everyday to pick them after school and we cross the expressway everyday because my house is not far from here.”
She pleaded with the state government to come to their aid.
Responding, an official of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, told The Guardian that they are on top of the situation and work will start on the bridge soon.
The official, who acknowledged that officials of NAFRC had been following up on the issue, affirmed that the ministry is waiting for release of funds to fix the pedestrian bridge.
“we are pleading with commuters to bear with us. I will remind the director of bridges in the ministry on the issue to ensure timely repair of the bridge,” the official said.