Nigerians Groan As Road, Bridge Projects Stall For Years

In January, the Federal Government said it was undertaking various road projects worth N2.8t across the country.

According to the Director of Highways, Planning and Development, in the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Chukwunwike Uzo, who made the disclosure, these projects to be funded partly by proceeds of the Sukuk bond, through which N100b was raised to fund 25 select road projects across the six geopolitical zones.

Uzo, who spoke to newsmen equally revealed that the government is financing ongoing road projects outside the Sukuk to the tune of N1.8t, while the 25 Sukuk-funded roads projects are to gulp N1t.

Last month, the Federal Government, in its bid to debunk an allegation of infrastructure neglect by some governors from the South East released a list of 69 ongoing road and bridge projects in the area.

But findings by The Guardian revealed that some of these projects are still in the state they were before the present Muhammadu Buhari-led administration came on board. For those that are not, the lack-lustre approach with which they are approached, suggests that they are either poorly funded or not funded at all, hence work on them are either lingering or stopped.

For instance, four months after the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway was flagged-off by the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing, it has been a case of motion without movement.

In fact, the road has gone from bad to worse in the last three weeks, despite the presence of construction giant, Julius Berger Plc., which is handling the project. Expectedly, motorists and other road users are the worst for it.

It would be recalled that the road project re-awarded at the cost of N22.387b, was flagged-off on Monday, May 14, 2018, from Ile Zik Bus Stop, Ikeja, Lagos State, up to Brewery Junction, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Divided into two sections, the first section, which starts from Ile Zik spans about 20km, while the second section, which falls into Ogun State is 60km.

Among other things, the contract is to ensure complete rehabilitation of the entire stretch, with a contract period of two and a half years.

Few days after the flag-off, the contractors mobilised to site and began the application of palliatives around the Sango/Ota, Iyana-Joju, Owode, Iyana-Ologbo, and other sore spots on the road, which had seriously deteriorated due to neglect by previous administrations.

With the rainy season still holding sway, the temporary relief enjoyed by motorists was soon washed away by heavy downpour and the situation made worse than before.

As the palliatives gave way, Julius Berger’s West Division Manager, Wolfgang Loesser, told newsmen that the firm was carrying out repairs of bad portions of the highway to ease gridlock, pending the major rehabilitation works. But months after completion of the repairs, work appears to have halted.

In the last two week, the ever-busy road has become practically impassable for some motorists, as potholes and craters of diverse sizes now dot it.

From the Old Tollgate, which serves as boundary between Lagos and Ogun states, the road is still manageable up to Joju Junction, but from Conoil Junction, through Owode, Iyana-Ilogbo, Ilepa, Pakoto, Techno Bus Stop, up to the railway crossing at Arigbajo, motorists are experiencing hell.

Journeying from Sango to Ifo, which used to be about a 20 or 25-minute drive now lasts over five hours as a result of unbearable gridlock induced by the bad road.

On days that there are heavy downpours, vehicular movements are brought to a halt and commuters forced to disembark and wade through mud and water pools in order to make it to Owode and Ijako, where they can board either vehicles or motorcycles to continue their journey.

A commercial driver, Olukunle Oni, described the state of the road as “shame of a nation,” adding that despite the much-hyped flag-off ceremony, the road is still in a pitiable condition, causing road users pains and agony.