…Fixing the little they can fix there
The Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Works, Mrs. Aramide Adeyoye, has said that though funding for works on Abule-Egba Toll Gate of Lagos-Abeokuta expressway is available, completing procurement process for the project has caused the delay.
He said this while addressing newsmen where he mentioned that road users have to wait as a result of the procurement process, which she said is the major problem.
The SA adds, “The minister of works has said they are ready to start but you must complete the procurement process. You can’t jump it. It is due process. It is one of the things the World Bank has laid as a condition for transparency and openness, so we have to accomplish that as well.”
Although Adeyoye said the state government would have gone ahead to fix the road, there is a limit to what they can do given the extant rules that exist on the federal side. “That is, as a state, you cannot go into a federal road and when you go, you must obtain permission and you may not be reimbursed if you fix the road”.
According to her, “If you can’t get reimbursement, you begin to ask yourself if you can afford it based on available resources. So, why not wait for the particular agency that is responsible to fix it?”
She, however, pleaded to residents and motorists plying the axis to be patient. “The government knows the cry and we feel it. We do feel the pain of the masses there and that is why we are fixing the little we can fix there”.
