The Lagos State Government has advanced reasons for the delay in rehabilitation of Abule-Egba-Toll Gate stretch of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, saying the works were being stalled by delay in the procurement process.
It explained that despite the availability of funds for the project, the delay in procuring materials needed for the works that were not available locally remains the major challenges stalling respite for users of the road.
The Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Works, Aramide Adeyoye, said that fund for the project had been approved by the Federal Government and that contractors had also been notified ahead, stressing that they would be mobilized to field following successful procurement of materials.
Briefing newsmen on the update on the Abule-Egba-Toll Gate stretch of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, the Special Adviser who regretted that commuters and motorists were through harrowing experiences plying the road with many collapsed portions, assured that government would do everything possible to FastTrack the procurement process which she described as a major hindrance.
“The government knows the cry and we feel it, we do feel the pain of the masses there and that is why we are fixing the little we can fix there. The Minister of Works has said they are ready to start but you must complete the procurement process.
“You can’t jump it, it is due process, it is one of the things the World Bank has laid as a condition for transparency and openness, so we have to accomplish that as well.”
According to her, the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration would have fixed the road, “but there is a limit to what we can do given the extant rules that exist on the Federal side; that is as a state you cannot go into a federal road and when you go you must obtain permission and you may not be reimbursed if you fix the road.
“And if you can’t get reimbursement, you begin to ask yourself if you can afford it based on available resources. So, why not wait for the particular agency that is responsible to fix it?.
