Bureaucratic Red Tape Stalls Lagos-Sango-Abeokuta Expressway Reconstruction, Says Dapo Abiodun

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has emphasized that bureaucratic bootleneck stalled the reconstruction of the Lagos-Sango-Abeokuta Expressway.

Abiodun also assured that the Agbara-Lusada-Atan road currently under construction would be completed in September.

Speaking in an interview after inspecting the 20-kilometer Agbara -Lusada-Atan road in the Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area on Wednesday, Governor Abiodun emphasized the importance of the roads not only to the economic wellbeing of the State, but that of the nation.

While recalling the efforts by Ogun and Lagos state governments to take over and reconstruct the Lagos-Sango Abeokuta Expressway, Abiodun said he and his Lagos State counterpart were frustrated by delays from the Federal Government, right from the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the Governor, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in power, the federal government was approached once again for the transfer of the road to the state, a request that was eventually granted.

He, however, said the state still faces stiff opposition from some federal officials on the transfer, which forced the state government to formally award the contract in May, with or without the necessary transfer papers.

He said: “The Lagos-Sango- Abeokuta road is a federal government road and has been in a very bad shape for long. Because of the suffering our people pass through on the road, I and my counterpart in Lagos jointly wrote a letter, using a single letterhead to the Federal Executive Council, seeking for the transfer of that road for us to reconstruct.

“After waiting for a month without reply, we wrote a reminder. That road was not handed over to us until the present federal government came on board. The contract for the road has since been awarded since May this year.”