.jpeg)
The stretch of road from Lagos to Abuja normally covers
717.7 kilometres and the trip will take between 10 hours to 15 hours going by
the poor conditions of the road which have injured and claimed many lives of
motorists and commuters through accidents, armed robbery, banditry and
kidnapping.
Umahi, who undertook inspections of Lagos-Ibadan expressway,
Epe-Ijebu-Ode road, among others on Thursday, noted that the ‘super’ road
projects being proposed by Tinubu’s presidency would solve major road
infrastructure problems that are being experienced by Nigerians across the
country.
While being hosted by Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State in
Abeokuta, the State Capital, the minister of works stated that the efforts of
making Nigerian roads smooth and motorable had started in Lagos with third
mainland bridge and other major roads and bridges in Lagos as such roads and
bridges would be fixed without inflicting pains on Nigerians.
He said, “I have been in Lagos since Monday, basically
inspecting bridges in Lagos. Let me make it very clear that the public have no
fear about the integrity of the Third Mainland Bridge.
“Every structure maintenance after so many years after
construction. The little defects here and there need to be fixed. We fix it in
such a way that it won’t inflict pains on Nigerians. Nobody should be afraid of
the integrity and stability of the Third Mainland Bridge. We are working on Eko
Bridge right now. We are going to look at the Carter Bridge.
“Your excellency, we have started the inspection already in
your state. Let me thank you for the beautiful road you built along Epe. I was
rather flying, not driving on that road. It links Lagos and what it means is
that those going to the North and the east can easily avoid the Island.
“Let me announce to you that the Lagos proposed 4th Mainland
Bridge is going to tear off with our proposed Super Highway which will take off
along Epe. Majority of it is going to be in Ogun State and it will take us four
hours from Lagos to Abuja. We had presentation on that yesterday (Wednesday).
It’s going to be on PPP.
“We are concluding on that. Within the next two months, work
will start on that project and that will further interconnect states to the
federal capital. We’ve inspected the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, a total of 127
kilometres. But majority of the road is in Ogun State, I think about
81kilometres.
“Let me announce that the entire pavement in Ogun State have
been completed. Berger is doing about 43kilometres of the road, while RCC is
doing the rest. The entire stretch of the road will be ready by the end of
September. But there will still be other small works going on; the drainage,
median works, will take us to end of November.”
Speaking on the production capacity of cement manufacturers
in the country, Umahi noted that the combined capacities of manufacturers are
not enough for the supply of reinforce concrete needed for the road and bridge
constructions proposed and the manufacturers needed to increase their
production capacities in order to meet up with demands.
“But the policy on our roads construction with reinforce
concrete is also going to put pressure on cement manufacturers. Their capacity
now cannot meet 30% of our requirement. So, it is for them to now expand their
factories and that will create jobs and reduce the pressure on forex”, he said.
Responding, Governor Dapo Abiodun recalled what he and
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State went through getting the Federal
Government’s permission to take over the reconstruction of the
Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Expressway.
He regretted that despite meeting some of the requirements
by the Federal Government, the two States were frustrated, leading to further
deterioration of the road.
He said: “I would like to highlight the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta
road, Ota is a city that has earned us the prestigious title of being the
industrial capital of Nigeria. It is a city where we share boundaries with
Lagos State and you can hardly tell the difference between Ota and Lagos State.
“That road, I think the contract must have been awarded
maybe in 2012 or 2010 under the administration of President Obasanjo. Since
then, the contract has been subjected to so many reviews.
“When I assumed office, Governor Sanwo-Olu and I went to see
President Buhari and we wrote one letter on a joint letterhead requesting for that
road to be transferred to us.
“We brought a letter from our bankers. At that point in
time, it was probably about N70 billion, saying that this N70 billion that we
want to put into the reconstruction of the road.
“Then, there was no Minister. We were told that because the
road is under contract, what they would like to do is to partner with the
states and we said okay, let us sit down, and discuss on the basis of the
partnership. That road is about 77 kilometres, let us discuss the basis of that
partnership, Your Excellency, we made no progress.”