The Nation Newspaper

Tag: EXPRESSWAY

  • Lagos-Ibadan Expressway: The Fashola factor

    Like a winding way, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway presents twists and turns. Another development has further complicated the ongoing reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and reinforced earlier complications. In the news is a new concession claim that is surprising and thought-provoking.

    An October 22 report said: “The Ministry of Works has said that the contractor handling Section II of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway reconstruction and expansion project, Reynolds Construction Company, RCC, was facing challenges of finance, adverse weather and impatience of motorists. Mr. Nelson Olubakinde, the representative of the Ministry, told newsmen in Ibadan: “The construction company (RCC) is facing challenges of finance, weather, especially rain, and impatience on the part of road users often resulting in accidents within work location.”

    The report also said: “Olubakinde, however, said that the construction effort was under Public Private Partnership, PPP, arrangement with Motorway Assets Limited as leasee, while the ministry was the guarantor.”

    The confusion was compounded by a November 11 report which said: “Oyinloye was quoted in a newspaper report on November 4 as saying: “Motorways Assets Limited has been given consideration for the project. The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission has to give the concession certificate, while the lenders and investors have to ensure that all the details are properly worked out. We have now got all the relevant approvals.” Mr. Adekunle Oyinloye is Managing Director of the Infrastructure Bank Plc.

    The question is: How did MAL get into the picture?  It is noteworthy that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has moved from controversy to controversy, especially following the Goodluck Jonathan administration’s 2012 termination of a concession agreement with Bi-Courtney Highways Services Limited (BCHSL), which was supposed to reconstruct and manage the toll road. The past government alleged that the company failed to make progress on actualising the objective of the concession four years after the agreement signed with a preceding administration.

    It is two years since the Jonathan administration in July 2013 rearranged the reconstruction, following a N167 billion contract, awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and Reynolds Construction Company Limited. Under the new arrangement, two sections of the expressway will be reconstructed: Section I (Lagos to Sagamu Interchange) and Section II (Sagamu Interchange to Ibadan).

    The 127.6-km-long Lagos-Ibadan Expressway dates back to 1978. Apart from connecting Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, and Lagos State, Nigeria’s economic capital, the road is the busiest inter-state road, and it is a main link to the northern, southern and eastern regions of the country.

    According to Bi-Courtney, “We are in court because the alleged cancellation of the concession did not follow due process. Apart from that, the so-called contract involving the two new companies handling the project was awarded arbitrarily without a bidding process.”  The company said:  “BCHSL won the concession to reconstruct and manage the toll road for 25 years. It’s a Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) arrangement. According to the concession agreement, the road will be expanded to 10 lanes from Lagos to Sagamu and six lanes from Sagamu to Ibadan. Because of this expansion, structures that fall within 60.35 metres from the median on both sides of the road will be demolished, and government will compensate owners of the affected properties.”

    The company proudly argued that it rebuilt the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA2) in Lagos “against all odds”. “It is the first airport in Africa to be owned by a private company on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, the first of its kind in Nigeria, and it was delivered far ahead of schedule,” Bi-Courtney said.

    The company’s response to the allegation of non-performance blamed work delay on the Jonathan administration. In the period of three years and six months that the company had the concession, it was slowed down for two years and 10 months. According to the company, the design process which was expected to be completed within four months took 18 months as a result of bureaucratic bottlenecks at the Ministry of Works. The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) corroborated Bi-Courtney’s position.

    From the look of things, the announced cancellation of the concession by the Ministry of Works on November 19, 2012, was the culmination of a chain of unprogressive manoeuvres resulting from behind-the-scenes influence.  While the delay lasted, Bi-Courtney said, “We were advised by the ministry not to do any serious works on the road other than palliatives”.  Before the concession was terminated, the company claimed it “had completed the patching and overlaying of bad portions of the highway, preparatory to full-scale reconstruction”.

    It is interesting to note the new language describing MAL as “leasee” and the reference to Public Private Partnership (PPP). The old understanding was that the contract involving Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and Reynolds Construction Company Limited is not a concession unlike Bi-Courtney’s, with the implication that the federal government is expected to fund the road rehabilitation and operate the toll road. With MAL in the picture now, has the picture changed?

    Of course, it is open to debate whether adopting the concession model for the rehabilitation of the expressway promises greater socio-economic benefits than the old way of doing things. However, the attraction of the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) approach, which the concession concept represents, cannot be reasonably discounted in a modern economy, considering reported examples in Western Europe and the U.S. where private investors are involved in infrastructure development based on concession agreements.

    The PPP appeal is highlighted by a recent report: “Contractors handling over 184 federal road projects have abandoned the various sites due to lack of funding from the Federal Government and the huge debt owed them by the Federal Ministry of Works.”  The Lagos-Ibadan dual carriageway was listed among the roads affected by the funding problem. According to the report, “The contractors said they were owed over N600bn, adding that although part of the sum was owed by state and local governments, over 80 per cent of the amount was owed by the Federal Government.”

    This kind of abandonment seems less likely under a concession arrangement that requires the concessionaire to raise funds for the concerned project, rather than wait for government funding that may make a mess of the project, particularly in the context of dwindling government revenue.

    Against this background, the appointment of ex-Lagos State governor Babatunde Fashola as Minister of Power, Works and Housing, may prove to be a clarifying factor concerning the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. He has a track record of progressive performance.  Fashola was quoted as saying: “Let us design and build roads that last and houses that will stand the test of time. We want to know if some of those problems are man-made or systemic…We want information on what has been done, what remained to be done, and what are the future plans, we want to continue from there.”

  • Lagos-Ibadan Expressway: Sad twist in the tale

    Lagos-Ibadan Expressway: Sad twist in the tale

    In the last few days, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has become a nightmare for motorists. That should not be if the immediate past federal administration had kept its promise to Nigerians who remain the victims. OLUKOREDE YISHAU reports that, aside the broken promise, a secret concession arrangement was entered into after the controversial cancellation of another. 

    Ask residents of Arepo, a community on the 127.6-kilometre-long Lagos–Ibadan Expressway connecting Ibadan, the Oyo State capital and Lagos State, what the highway means to them. Ordinarily, they should say it is the means to and from their homes. Their answer these days will be that the highway represents hell, no thanks to government’s failure.

    Their reason: a journey from the Journalists’ Estate in the community, which should take less than 20 minutes to the popular Berger Bus Stop in Lagos, now takes eternity. They share this fate with residents of other communities on the 37-year-old expressway. Those using the route to access the Southeast, South-south and northern parts of the country also have sad tales to tell.

    •Flood takes over Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
    •Flood takes over Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

    But what really is the cause of the gridlock? Potholes, which have turned into craters, dot the road from Berger to Warewa near the Arepo Junction. The potholes have created several bad spots which force motorists to stop when they get to any of those spots. The effects of these frequent stops are traffic bottlenecks which stretch a long distance.

    Though the bad spots from Berger to Warewa seem much, the bad spots on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway stretch further. But this should not be for this major route to the northern, southern and eastern parts of the country.

    In July 2013, the then President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan inaugurated the reconstruction of the road. This was after the controversial termination of a concession agreement between the government and Bi-Courtney Highway Services. Ex-President Jonathan had promised that the road would be ready in 48 months. It is over 50 months now.

    The contract was awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria and Reynolds Construction Company Limited (RCC) at a cost of N167 billion. The expressway was divided into Section I (Lagos to Sagamu Interchange) and section II (Sagamu Interchange to Ibadan) between the two companies.

    •Gridlock on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (2/6/12)
    •Gridlock on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
    (2/6/12)

    The N167 billion reconstruction cost did not include bridge overpass and underpass, which the N89.5 billion terminated concession agreement had promised. Also, the N89.5 billion concession agreement with Bi-Courtney was expected to build a world-class road with all necessary infrastructure.

    There were plans to build a flyover at the Redemption Camp to ease the occasional congestion in that axis, provide dawn lightening powered by a gas-fired plant, improved and new interchanges, new drainage system, recessed service areas, lay-by emergency parking areas, trailer parks, footbridges in heavy pedestrian areas, weighbridges, electronic traffic control and informative signs.

    The revocation of the initial 25-year concession agreement with Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited took effect on November 19, 2012.

    But what has come as a shock to close watchers of the developments on the road  was a concession claim last week by a firm, which identified itself as Motorways Assets Limited (MAL).

    It said it was working on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The claim was contrary to statements by government officials in the Jonathan administration that there was no concession, and that the project had only been given to two contractors, Messrs Julius Berger and Reynolds Construction Company (RCC), at a cost of N167 billion; out of which the Federal Government had paid N50 billion.

    Another N23 million was voted in the 2014 Budget for the hiring of consultants on Private Public Partnership (PPP) scheme.

    MAL said it was in the final stages of negotiation with lenders to raise N150 billion for the second tranche of funds to complete the project.

    The emergence of MAL is raising dust, because it is seen as a violation of Private Public Partnership (PPP) laws and laid down procedures. The project ought to have been advertised for competitive bidding by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC). It was not; making it appear as a back door arrangement.

    Significantly, section 2.1 of the Nigerian Public-Private Partnerships Manual says: “The project is usually initiated by a Ministry, Department, and/or Agency (MDA) of the government. In select cases, the project could be initiated by the private sector as an Unsolicited Proposal under a transparent and competitive process, which will also be managed by an MDA.

    “The first step for the MDA is to develop a project concept to be approved by the National Planning Commission (for projects of the Federal Government) or other relevant state authorities.

    “The project concept will usually be based on a Pre-Feasibility study or Outline Business Case, and if it is approved, will allow the project to be included in the 15-year Master Plan (or National Implementation Plan for the Federal Government) which sets out the government’s infrastructure investment strategy covering all forms of procurement, including projects that will be financed in whole or in part from the federal budget.”

    But, in the absence of any public tender, Oyinloye was quoted in a newspaper report on November 4 as saying: “Motorways Assets Limited has been given consideration for the project. The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission has to give the concession certificate, while the lenders and investors have to ensure that all the details are properly worked out. We have now got all the relevant approvals.”

    The troubled story

    Speaking at the inauguration of the road, Jonathan said: “We have made adequate funding arrangements to see the project all the way through to completion and by the special grace of God, we are certain to deliver on our promise and pledge on schedule.”

    It did not take more than five months to show that the statement was political. On September 12, 2013, the Managing Director of the Infrastructure Bank Plc, Mr. Adekunle Oyinloye, reportedly announced that the Federal Government had mandated the bank to raise the N167 billion required for the reconstruction of the dual carriageway.

    This was followed up by another manoeuvre on January 8, last year, when the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Works, Mr. Bisi Agbonhin, said: “Investors will provide N117 billion for the road through a private sector-led project finance; infrastructure finance facility with the Federal Government of Nigeria providing 30 per cent of the project cost (i.e. N50 billion) while the balance of 70 per cent would be provided by the investors and financiers to the project. This arrangement will enable completion of the project on time and on budget.”

    During an inspection of the road on February 10, last year, Mike Onolememen, who was the Minister of Works, revealed that the Federal Government had secured Private Finance Initiative (PFI) to fund the project. He denied that the ministry was about to re-concession the road.

    “This is very common in the United States and we are introducing it here under this project to make it faster,” he said.

    While addressing the board and management of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) on January 21, last year, Onolememen said: “For these three roads (Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Second Niger Bridge and the approach route of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport), we are bringing vast resources from the private sector to the tune of about N300 billion. The reality in our nation today clearly shows that without the mechanism of Public Private Partnership (PPP), Nigerians will not be able to enjoy real dividends of democracy.”

    The ministry was not done with its excuses on the road. Tony Ikpasaja, Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Works, in a newspaper article on January 29, last year, said: “There are three major funding options that have the potential to provide adequate, reliable and timely financing for key road infrastructure.

    “The first is On-Budget Public Funding; the second funding option is Off-Budget Public Funding, which includes special intervention funds, FGN Road bonds (to be issued in conjunction with the Debt Management Office), Concessionary Loans (e.g. from Nexim Banks). The third funding option, which is Private Sector Resources, comprises Pension Fund, PPP, Long-term Commercial Bonds, Export-Credit Finance, Private Equity and Infrastructure Bonds… Already, the Federal Government has N50 billion from the regular budgetary allocation of 2014 and 2015, as well as from Special Intervention Funds (SURE-P).

    “In addition, the Minister, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, is working with key government institutions to raise the balance of the construction cost through FGN Road Bonds and Infrastructure Bonds where private sector funds can be accessed for the speedy completion of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. This makes it a variant of the PPP model, where private sector funds can be leveraged without concessioning the road to a private firm.”

    Onolememen was to introduce another variation while addressing a delegation of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains in Abuja on February 4, last year, saying: “The government can decide how it funds its road projects, and government has made commitments up to N50 billion on that road. And we have decided, as a government and ministry, that in order to fast-track the completion of that road, we are going to be issuing road bonds and infrastructure bonds, where we will raise a balance of N100 billion. We already have government institutions that are also putting money down up to about N17 billion for that road.”

    Lessons from other lands

    Elsewhere, when governments need help to fix infrastructure, they turn to PPP and they follow the rules, which give the private investors the confidence to go the whole hug. The arrangement with MAL does not seem to pass the integrity test. In India, road concession is state policy. No less than 152 roads have been delivered under the arrangement. The state of Uttar Pradesh delivered over 13 of its major roads through that arrangement. In Germany, over 12, 200 km roads have been given out as concession. The United Kingdom has given out 580 km of roads. And in France, 6, 705 km of roads have been done through the PPP.

    Significantly, of the 51, 242 km of motorways in Western Europe, 17,009 km (representing 33 per cent) were done under concession arrangement. Of this, 16, 356km are toll roads; 653km have shadow toll.

    ICRC, BPP and what next

    For the ICRC and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Bi-Courtney was a victim of the bureaucratic bottlenecks created by officials of the ministry, who exploited certain clauses in the concession agreement to frustrate the concessionaire.

    In its annual report submitted to the former President, the ICRC stated that the project failed because the government did not play its part well as a partner in the PPP enterprise.

    It was revealed that, of the three years and six months that Bi-Courtney had the concession, the Federal Government delayed for two years and 10 months. The rains accounted for six months. In effect, in a period of three years and six months, Bi-Courtney only had two months to work properly and it actually commenced the work through Borini Prono on September 23, 2012.

    With last week’s claim by MAL, sources close to Bi-Courtney say a legal battle is afoot. And this raises the poser: how long will Nigerians have to wait if government fails to toe the right path on this all-important project? For now, the Ogun State government has started some remedial work on the road. This certainly will only help for a while.

    What the road needs is a permanent solution. And for stakeholders such as the Afenifere, the Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, this is what is expected: “We insist that the repair being carried out is not sufficient. We ask for a rebuilt road with six lanes on each of the north-bound and south-bound carriages between the interchange at Ojota in Lagos and the Sagamu interchange from where it should continue with four lanes on each side to Ojoo in Ibadan. Anything short of the above is a waste of time.”

  • Lagos-Ibadan Expressway: The road ahead

    As a metaphor for the journey of life, the road is both interesting and intriguing. Two notable writers were fascinated enough to focus on the road: Nigerian Nobelist Wole Soyinka created a 1965 drama titled “The Road”, while American novelist Jack Kerouac produced a 1957 novel titled “On The Road”.

    Between August 19 and 22, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway occupied my thoughts. I found myself thinking about the long road on my way from Lagos to Osogbo, Osun State, to eyewitness the celebration of Susanne Wenger’s centenary, the Osun-Osogbo Grove’s 10th anniversary as a World Heritage Site and the finale of the Osun-Osogbo Festival. On my way back to my base, after a stopover at Gbongan to take part in a celebration of the departed parents of a literary mentor, I used the same long road.

    The ongoing reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway complicated my journey to and fro, which set me thinking about this important road and its complications. It is two years since the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan in July 2013 rearranged the reconstruction, following a N167 billion contract, awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and Reynolds Construction Company Limited. Under the new arrangement, two sections of the expressway will be reconstructed: Section I (Lagos to Sagamu Interchange) and Section II (Sagamu Interchange to Ibadan).

    The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which dates back to 1978, is 127.6-km-long, connecting Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, and Lagos State, Nigeria’s economic capital. Importantly, the road is not only a main link to the northern, southern and eastern regions of the country; it is the busiest inter-state road.

    Understandably, its connective capacity has implications for road improvement and development, which explains public concern about its state. The news that Julius Berger Nigeria Plc will resume major repair work on the expressway by the end of September, after a worrying break that lasted some months, raised more questions than answers. The pause was caused by financial difficulties allegedly connected with the Federal Government’s funding performance.  It is unclear whether the problematic funding issues have been resolved and how, considering that a new central administration under President Muhammadu Buhari is in charge.

    It is noteworthy that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has been a road of controversy, especially following the Jonathan administration’s 2012 termination of a concession agreement with Bi-Courtney Highways Services Limited (BCHSL), which was supposed to reconstruct and manage the toll road. The past government alleged that the company failed to make progress on actualising the objective of the concession four years after the agreement signed with a preceding administration.

    According to Bi-Courtney, “We are in court because the alleged cancellation of the concession did not follow due process. Apart from that, the so-called contract involving the two new companies handling the project was awarded arbitrarily without a bidding process.”  The company said:  “BCHSL won the concession to reconstruct and manage the toll road for 25 years. It’s a Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) arrangement. According to the concession agreement, the road will be expanded to 10 lanes from Lagos to Sagamu and six lanes from Sagamu to Ibadan. Because of this expansion, structures that fall within 60.35 metres from the median on both sides of the road will be demolished, and government will compensate owners of the affected properties.”  The company proudly argued that it rebuilt the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA2) in Lagos “against all odds”. “It is the first airport in Africa to be owned by a private company on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, the first of its kind in Nigeria, and it was delivered far ahead of schedule,” Bi-Courtney said.

    The company’s response to the allegation of non-performance blamed work delay on the Jonathan administration. In the period of three years and six months that the company had the concession, it was slowed down for two years and 10 months. According to the company, the design process which was expected to be completed within four months took 18 months as a result of bureaucratic bottlenecks at the Ministry of Works. The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) corroborated Bi-Courtney’s position.

    To cut a long story short, it would appear that the announced cancellation of the concession by the Ministry of Works on November 19, 2012, was the culmination of a chain of untidy and unprogressive manoeuvres that suggested behind-the-scenes influence.  While the delay lasted, Bi-Courtney said, “We were advised by the ministry not to do any serious works on the road other than palliatives”.  Before the concession was terminated, the company claimed it “had completed the patching and overlaying of bad portions of the highway, preparatory to full-scale reconstruction”.

    It is interesting to note that the ongoing contract involving Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and Reynolds Construction Company Limited is fundamentally different in nature and not a concession as was the case with Bi-Courtney. The implication is that the federal government is expected to fund the road rehabilitation and operate the toll road.

    Of course, it is open to debate whether adopting the concession model for the rehabilitation of the expressway promises greater socio-economic benefits than the old way of doing things. However, the attraction of the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) approach, which the concession concept represents, cannot be reasonably discounted in a modern economy, considering reported examples in Western Europe and the U.S. where private investors are involved in infrastructure development based on concession agreements.

    The PPP appeal is interestingly reinforced by a recent report: “Contractors handling over 184 federal road projects have abandoned the various sites due to lack of funding from the Federal Government and the huge debt owed them by the Federal Ministry of Works.”  The Lagos-Ibadan dual carriageway was listed among the roads affected by the funding problem. According to the report, “The contractors said they were owed over N600bn, adding that although part of the sum was owed by state and local governments, over 80 per cent of the amount was owed by the Federal Government.”

    This kind of abandonment seems less likely under a concession arrangement that requires the concessionaire to raise funds for the concerned project, rather than wait for government funding that may make a mess of the project, particularly in the context of dwindling government revenue.  Certainly, there is a price to be paid. But if PPP works for infrastructure development, the socio-economic benefits may well be worth the price.

  • KAI arrests 90 for crossing expressway

    KAI arrests 90 for crossing expressway

    inety persons, including expectant and nursing mothers, were arrested yesterday at Oshodi in Lagos by officials of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI).

    They were apprehended for not using the pedestrian bridge.

    The action, it was learnt, was aimed at improving road safety and reducing accidents called ‘hit and run’, which had claimed lives.

    In the exercise, which caught many unawares, pedestrians were arrested at Oshodi under bridge by stern-looking KAI officials, who marched the offenders into a Black Maria from where they would be taken to the agency’s office for trial.

    The enforcement was the first major operation under the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration.

    The action forced many people to use the pedestrian bridge.

    One of such people, a marketer, Miss Margret Oladele, said she couldn’t remember when last she used the pedestrian bridge in the last five years.

    A KAI official, who preferred anonymity, said the move was to reduce deaths on the roads, adding that no fewer than 10 persons were knocked down daily while crossing expressways.

     

  • Travellers stranded on Lagos – Ibadan Expressway

    Travellers stranded on Lagos – Ibadan Expressway

    Motorists and travellers plying the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway were stranded for over seven hours yesterday following a prolonged traffic gridlock caused by the National Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God(RCCG).

    Those heading to the east and other parts of the country for the weekend from Lagos as well as those journeying to Lagos from different locations were pinned to a spot during the lockdown.

    Though operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) from Ogun, Oyo and Lagos Commands made frantic efforts to control traffic jam, the nightmare had worsened by noon.

    At the RCCG Camp KM 46 stretch of the expressway, the situation became chaotic as worshippers desperate to beat the gridlock before the end of the convention compounded the stand-still.

    The weeklong convention, which started last Monday, peaked yesterday thousands of worshippers trooped into the camp.

    Others struggled to leave the convention, which ends today.

    An Abeokuta-based transporter, Mr Nurein Mudashiru, told our correspondent that he spent six hours in the jam for a return trip from Lagos – Abeokuta.

    The Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ogun, Adegoke Adetunji, told The Nation that the convergence of large number of worshippers as well as those wishing to go home caused the traffic jam.

  • Ambode: I’ll complete Lagos-Badagry Expressway

    Ambode: I’ll complete Lagos-Badagry Expressway

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has promised to complete the 10-lane Lagos-Badagry Expressway if elected.

    Ambode, who spoke at the weekend at a rally at Badagry Senior Grammar School, Badagry, Lagos assured that the road would be completed by his administration, despite the face-off between the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government.

    He said although controversy rocked the execution of the project, with the Federal Government insisting that it ought to handle it, being an international route, “my administration will complete the expressway if voted into office.”

    The APC governorship candidate said the state government could not toy with a project of such magnitude, considering its economic value to the country.

    He pledged to facilitate the establishment of industries in Badagry, to create jobs for youths.

    Ambode promised to bring the dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of the residents.

    His words: “I know your problems. I have worked and lived among you at the local government level. I will create jobs for you by establishing industries in this community. I will bring good governance to this community. I will complete the Lagos-Badagry Expressway project.”

    Reiterating his commitment to the continuity of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola’s legacy, Ambode promised to lay a foundation for youths to realise their potential and become good citizens.

    He added: “I will give Badagry youths the opportunity to be the best. I didn’t know I can be where I am today. I was just given the opportunity. I will give you that chance.”

    At the campaign were Governor Fashola, his deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Mr. Solomon Adeola Olamilekan (aka Yayi), Mr. Sunny Ajose, members of Akinwunmi Ambode Kommittee of Friends (AA’KOF), APC candidates in the local government and others.

  • Police checkpoints back on Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway

    SIR: Barely two years after the Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Mohammed broke the jinx of police obstinacy of extorting money from motorists by dismantling all illegal police checkpoints along the country’s highways and pronouncing strict punitive measures on any police officer who backslides, the practice has since returned to Aba/Port Harcourt expressway.

    From Imo River Bridge in Rivers State to Alaoji in Abia State, over 10 police checkpoints are mounted there. This development would ordinarily not have been abnormal if they are there to oversee the security of life and property of the people, but they compel motorists, especially the commercial ones to dole out cash at every checkpoint.

    Over the years, the Nigerian Army has never been involved in this extortion syndrome, but this time around, the army officers working with these police officers have joined the bandwagon. Whereas the police officers collect the toll by themselves, the soldiers engage the services of civilians to collect on their behalf.

    This return of the practice at this time that the nation is battling hard to forge ahead with advanced climes should not be swept under the carpet by the federal government. There is therefore the urgent need to nip it on the bud before it spreads over to other parts of the country.

    I call on the Inspector General of Police, to detail his men to patrol the Aba/Port Harcourt expressway with a view to arresting these policemen and their military counterparts and mete out adequate disciplinary measures to them to serve as deterrent to any intending defaulters.

    • Nkemakolam Gabriel

    Port Harcourt

     

  • Is Lagos-Ibadan Expressway cursed or jinxed?

    It was a Monday morning and I had to leave home much earlier to catch up with appointments after dropping my children in school. Alas! As I approached the beginning of Wawa long bridge, traffic was already on the bridge. Several questions ran through my mind: Break down? Accident? Fight between Fulani and indigenes? No answer.

    The next thing I saw was someone directing us to face the traffic coming from Lagos. I concluded then that a tanker had fallen and blocked our stretch of the road as we could see car turning back from the long bridge. My plans to drop my children at school early and meet my appointments had hit a rock. We drove slowly on the long bridge for more than an hour before we reached Kara exit. As we negotiated to our side of the road, a truck load of banana had fallen in the night with goods scattered all over the road due to the chasm in the middle of the road.

    The truck driver apparently ignorant of the terrain was cruising at regular speed, but suddenly ran into a ditch which over-turned the truck. I could not ascertain whether live(s) was lost. My brother in law who just got a new job had to quickly call his office to explain why he would resume late for.

    I happen to live on the outskirts of Lagos where is now popularly called 2nd Lagos because of the level of development going on along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway up to Sagamu intersection. However, the levels of decadence, rot, abandonment, neglect, call it any name on that stretch is converse to the rate of growth.

    The economic value of this road cannot be overemphasised. The only major link to the rest of Nigeria in terms of commerce. Lives are lost on the hour, either through accidents as a result of bad portions of the road, or people running into the hands of hoodlums and ritual killers when the vehicles break. The cost of good lost on that road every day runs into millions of naira or the cost of repairs for vehicles. In the last year, I have had to change my car shock absolver twice, including the upper and lower arms. One cannot time a journey from Berger to Sagamu as you don’t know what you will meet on the road. A journey of 30 minutes in the early 90s will now take one several hours.

    Several attempts have been made in the past to resurface, patch or reconstruct the road, but none seems to come to fruition. Since the Federal Government stopped the concession granted Bi-Courtney and awarded the contract to Julius Berger and RCC, little has been done. Could it be true that these two companies were not mobilized thus their withdrawal from site after the initial effort by JB to resurface the bad portions after RCCG camp.

    I call on the FG to please as a matter of urgency fix the road without delay. The Kara end of the road might soon give way if the rains continue with the intensity experienced in recent times.

    Ogun State government should also support development efforts in Wawa, Arepo, Magboro, Mowe, among others, by providing good roads. If individuals have invested in building houses for themselves, a responsible government should be magnanimous to construct good roads for easy access and commerce to thrive in these settlements.

    Meanwhile, the governments of Lagos and Ogun States should put in place mechanism to construct the access or by-pass roads from Lagos end to Sagamu.

     

    •Kupoluyi Ayodele lives in Ogun State and works in Lagos

     

  • School repairs Lagos/Ibadan expressway

    School repairs Lagos/Ibadan expressway

    Worried by the traffic gridlock and commuters’ agony caused by bad portions on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Access International School in Magboro, Ogun State has embarked on some repairs of the ever-busy road.

    The school’s Proprietor, Dr Jonathan Akpan said it has mobilised Mataba Construction for the exercise as part its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the society.

    Akpan told The Nation that the bad portions in four major places between Mowe and Magboro – opposite the NASFAT praying ground, Red Cross office at Ibafo, Yetkem filling station, and Mountain Top University were filled up.

    Akpan said the school embarked on the project which cost up to half a million naira because of the pains commuters, especially workers and pupils, have been going through since last year.

    “Out of pity, I did this because both local and state governments are trading blames on who should repair the road and their conclusion has been that the road is a Federal road, so nobody was ready to repair it. I sought permission from the Federal Road Safety Commission and they appointed some of their men to work with us in order to help us control the traffic while the construction lasts.

    “I believe this will be a big relief to many Nigerians who ply this road because of the trauma they have experienced in the past,” he said.

    Apart from the road, Akpan said Access has supported many areas, including donating four laptops to the Early Childhood Department of the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) Ijagun, Ogun State to ease the processing of students results.

    The Proprietor, however, called on corporate bodies and individuals to emulate this kind gesture by giving back to their society while calling on governments at all levels to make the welfare of citizens a top priority.

    He called on the Akwa Ibom State Government to come to the aid of Ikot Udofia community in Nsit-Atai Local Government Area of the state by providing basic amenities, such as public schools, electricity, hospitals, and potable water, saying he dug the only borehole in the community five years ago.

     

  • 12 killed, many injured in multiple accident in Anambra

    12 killed, many injured in multiple accident in Anambra

    It was another black Friday in Awka, Anambra State yesterday, when a trailer rammed into three vehicles, killing about 12 persons and injuring many others.
    Eye witnesses said the break of the  trailer carrying diesel with registration number: Abia AE729-UMA from Enugu end of the expressway along Enugu/Onitsha road failed and the driver  lost control of the vehicle.

    The incident happened at about  4 pm on Friday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University junction in Awka.

    Three L-300 Mitsubishi buses were involved as onlookers wept  as men of the Federal Road  Safety Commission (FRSC), police men, Army men, NCSDC members battled to take the injured to different hospitals.

     The Nation was told by an eye witness that when the trailer lost control, it rammed into one of the L-300 buses in transit and another one loading for Onitsha and killed all the passengers.

     Those also involved in the accidents were mainly people selling different items along the park and some okada riders.

    Some of them refused to talk to reporters, adding that they were unable to give correct account of what actually happened.

    Students and on lookers were seen crying their hearts out when the Nation visited the scene of the accident, while vehicles heading to Onitsha were held up for hours along the express way.