Residents of Akoka community in Bariga Local Council Development Area of Lagos State have appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to complete the rehabilitation of the long stretch of road that connects their community to other parts of the state.
The residents made this appeal during an inspection tour by the Lagos House of Assembly Committee on Works and Infrastructure headed by Desmond Elliot.
It was observed that the long stretch of St. Finbarrs’ College Road Akoka — a road leading to University of Lagos (UNILAG) from Bariga axis was partially rehabilitated, while some other parts are in a deplorable state.
The residents carried placards with inscriptions such as: “Save our soul in Akoka”, “What is our offence in Akoka”, “Akoka is totally neglected”, “We’ve been imprisoned in our own community”, “Our business is dying daily”, called for government attention “because the road has been abandoned for about three years.”
Elliot, who led a five-man delegation, said: “We’ve looked around and we are a bit disappointed with the pace of work. We’ve instructed the contractor that before anything, he should open up access routes, and also create a sort of palliative to make it passable.
“The Lagos State government has given a substantial amount to have gotten this job to 90 per cent. The contractor received 69 per cent and that means it should be accessible, but now cars are using one single lane, that’s not good enough. We will not rest on our oars in making sure we deliver on making life easier for people.”
The Chairman, Planning Committee for the St. Finbarrs Road abandonment project, Segun Adesanya and the Akoka CDA Chairman, Idowu Goriola, appealed to Governor Sanwo-Olu to hasten the completion of the road, to alleviate the sufferings of members of the community.
According to the residents, plying the road daily has subjected them to hardship and has equally affected their businesses.
A resident, Deaconess Showunmi, noted that if the road construction was completed, it would aid the economy of the community and help to decongest traffic.
She said: “They’ve been promising us they will start, up till now, they didn’t do anything. We want the government and the contractor to speed up the road completion”
Appealing to and assuring Akoka residents, Elliot said the Speaker of the Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has mandated the House Committee on Works and Infrastructure to begin oversight on all roads both ongoing and abandoned, with a view to assessing their conditions prior to the presentation of the year 2024 Appropriation Bill.
