The Muslim Rights Concern, on Monday, sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to President Bola Tinubu over the deplorable condition of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

In a statement, the Lagos and Ogun chairmen of the group, Busari Ademola and Jimoh Alao, said that the 81km federal highway has continued to be a death trap.

“We are calling on the federal government to revisit the construction of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway. The road which was first constructed more than 40 years ago by the Muritala-Obasanjo regime linking over 200 communities has made life unbearable for thousands of road users.

“The condition of the expressway is embarrassing, and with the return to democracy since 1999, the citizens of our dear States keep wondering if the route is attracting enough government attention. The contract for the reconstruction of the road was re-awarded in 2018 to some construction companies but to date, no significant progress could be seen,” said the MURIC statement.

The chairmen, in the statement, said that the road experience along the Ijaiye-Alakuko axis of Lagos via tollgate, Sango, Ifo, Itori, Papalanto and Obada near Abeokuta was brutal and painful with so many deep holes.

 “Therefore, we call on President Tinubu and relevant authorities and agencies to expedite action in constructing a viable, motorable and secure expressway to save the lives of Nigerians. We equally sympathise with thousands of Nigerians who are regular users of the road despite its unbearable state of dilapidation,” added the statement.

It stated, “We urge them to be hopeful. The relief is inevitable as the governments of Lagos and Ogun will find a lasting solution to the deplorable condition of the expressway without further political bureaucracy.

On August 31, the federal government jointly proposed rehabilitating the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta expressway with the Ogun government. The works minister, Dave Umahi, made the proposal during a courtesy call to Governor Dapo Abiodun in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

The minister and ministry officials were on a tour of federal roads in the state.

Mr Umahi, while responding to Mr Abiodun on the frustration experienced by Ogun and Lagos during the President Muhammadu Buhari regime to get the road done, disclosed that the period of bureaucracy in road construction in the country was over.

Mr Umahi noted that if the federal government is looking for corporate organisations to get involved in road construction and management, state governments should not be denied the same opportunity.

He said, “Let me say something about the frustration you had while you and the Lagos State government wrote to take over the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta road. Let me announce to you that it falls under our new programme, the Highway Development Management Initiative. It is a public-private partnership programme.

“People should begin to look at a state as a corporate entity. If you are looking for investors to come and invest on our roads, to construct, to own, to maintain and toll, why shouldn’t a state do that?” 

(NAN)