The National Coordinator of the
Oodua Peoplesv Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, has urged the Federal
Government to work with the National Assembly “and ensure the completion of the
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway immediately”.
Adams, who lamented the
lackadaisical attitude of some members of the Executive and Legislature “to the
urgency that should be attached to fixing this important road”, declared that
“the lack of seriousness is a reflectionof why things are not working in
Nigeria”.
Adams, who just returned from Sweden
where he presided over the third Summit of Oodua Progressives Union (OPU), said
it was unfortunate that while leaders in other countries see infrastructure as
an avenue of alleviating the suffering of the masses, “leaders in Nigeria play
politics with everything. In fact, the only thing they don't play politics with
is the air we breathe and that is because it is beyond their power”.
Describing the expressway as “the
major artery that carries the lifeblood of Nigeria's economy”, Adams said “the
fact that many administrations have not been able to fix this road is an
embarrassment”.
“This is a road that leads Lagos to
the West, East and North. Completed in 1978 as a four-lane highway, it is the
busiest highway in West Africa and one of the busiest in
Africa. About 300,000 vehicles ply
this road every day and it is a shame that successive administrations did not
show signs of seriousness about fixing the road.
“In Sweden and other western
countries, you cannot differentiate Day from Night because of the smoothness of
their roads and effective lighting but reverse is the case in Nigeria.
“Recently, Power, Works and Housing
Minister, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, raised the alarm on how budget for this
expressway was cut and lawmakers, instead of addressing the problem, started
playing politics with it. Hundreds of thousands of Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and
other ethnic nationalities ply this road every day. So, the road is not for
Yoruba but for Nigerians.
“Any serious government would have
fixed the road a long time ago. This is 2017 and we are still playing politics
with this reconstruction. Now, the two contractors, Julius Berger and Reynolds
Construction Company (RCC), have threatened to abandon the road due to delay in
the payment of agreed contract fees on work already done. How did we get to
this level of apathy in matters bordering on development?
“We in the OPC are of the opinion
that if some principal officers in the government are suffering from
short-sightedness, millions of Nigerians can clearly see how the lack of
seriousness in government is squeezing the economy and inflicting agony on
businesses. The neglect of this road is an example in this regard.
“The apparent neglect of this road
for decades is not without grave consequences. No serious country jokes with
the welfare of its citizens. The reconstruction of this road should be a priority
because of its importance to the economic growth of our country.
“We, in OPC, call on Acting
President Yemi Osinbajo to do the needful immediately. Enough of politicking
and irresponsibility on the part of government officials. We demand that this
road is fixed TODAY”.
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