Residents of Sholiyi community in Gbagada have appealed to authorities of the Deeper Life Bible Church to take necessary steps in easing traffic congestion in the area.
They asked the church to fulfil its agreement to build two link bridges in different areas of the community for traffic decongestion.
They spoke during a courtesy visit to the Lagos headquarters of Vintage Press Limited, publishers of Nation titles last week.
The cathedral billed for dedicated in April is expected to cover 6,200 square metres with an additional 16,244 square metres.
Secretary, Landlord/residents association Sholiyi community, Mr. Moses Eniayewu, said: “We are not asking Deeper Life Church to relocate from Gbagada community.
“What we want from them is to construct two bridges in two different areas in the community so as to ease traffic congestion.”
Eniayewu traced the traffic congestion in the area to 2009 when the church obtained approval from Lagos State Government to construct a 30,000 –seater auditorium.
“When we saw this, we initiated a meeting with them and told them that before going ahead, they should provide link bridges at Fred Omojole lcrescent and Ogundare Avenue.
“Initially they agreed but later they didn’t meet with us to discuss about it again.”
Eniayewu alleged when the community discovered the church was not ready to do as promised, the community wrote a letter to former Governor Babatunde Fashola who ordered stoppage of works until the bridges were constructed.
He added: “During the time of Fashola, there were some terms and conditions that they were expected to meet and because they couldn’t meet the conditions they had to stop work on the project. The church said it had no money to construct the bridges and we all kept quiet.”
Baale of Sholiyi, High Chief Solomon Olamiju, pointed out Ayodele Okeowo Street is the only road in and out of the community.
The street, he said, should be decongested in case of crisis and emergencies, pointing a recent fuel trailer breakdown caused a four-hour traffic girdlock.
“Even with the General Hospital located in the area, whenever there is emergency there is always a problem. Imagine a community with only one exit and Deeper Life Church is located at the beginning of the street.”
An official of the association, Olawale Olawuyi, added the church officials said there was no money for the bridges after a tour of Mende and Ifako to show outlets where they can construct them.
National secretary of the church, Pastor Jerry Asemota, told our correspondent there was never any intention to renege on the promise to build the bridges.
The one from Diya road-Sholiyi, he assured, will be completed in the next two months.
Asemota said the church, as a responsible entity, has been doing so much to alleviate flooding, traffic congestion and environmental challenges in the community.
According to him: “We have fixed the culverts on a link road from Banjoko Street to Atunrase crescent. We have tried to maintain the Omojole crescent road but residents park their vehicles on the street, making work impossible.
“Government officials have come and said there was nothing we promised that we have not done and construction of roads is not our responsibility.
“But we are working hard. We were meeting with the resident associations until three other communities came up and we decided we should meet them together.
“But the association in Sholiyi does not want that and I guess that is their main grouse with us.”
