Lagos moves to ensure quick completion of Lagos-Badagry Expressway

The Lagos State Government has moved to ensure the quick completion of the ongoing work on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

This follows a unanimous resolution after 2 days of rigorous deliberations at the yearly Executive-Legislative parley of the Lagos State Government.

According to a public statement by the State government, there was a resolution to set up a 7-man ad-hoc committee to be headed by the Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, with a mandate to have a dialogue with the Federal Government and secure a guarantee for quick completion of ongoing work on the Okokomaiko-Seme Border stretch of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

The committee is expected to give feedback to the State government within weeks for further action.

The resolution from the event partly reads, “In the last two days, we have discussed and shared various ideas on how Lagos can be further secured and transformed to become the logistics and port hubs in Africa. Part of what needs to be done is acceleration and improvement on the infrastructure of the State with emphasis on roads construction and sustainable integrated transportation system through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Quick completion of Lagos-Badagry Expressway, an international corridor, is key to boosting the State’s economy. 

“To this end, we are raising a seven-man ad hoc committee chaired by the Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, to engage the Federal Government through the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure for the completion of the road from Okokomaiko to Seme Border. Other members of the committee include Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Aramide Adeyoye, Special Adviser on Arts and Culture, Mr Solomon Bonu, two federal legislators and two legislators in the State House of Assembly. 

“We are calling for improved protection for Lagos infrastructure through the installation of digital scanners at all entry points and continuous investment in security infrastructure and equipment. This must be complemented with regular capacity building for security personnel to align with global best practice. 

“To equip police officers serving in Lagos with adequate gadgets, there is a need for the State to access resources from the Police Trust Fund domiciled with the Federal Government. We charge all federal legislators from Lagos in the National Assembly to lobby for this. Henceforth, there must be unique data on registration, identification and licencing of private guards and security operatives in Lagos, as well as the need to develop defined competencies for informal security guards.”

Special Adviser on Civic Engagement to the Governor, Princess Aderemi Adebowale, who read the 7-point resolutions agreed on at the parley, also said the participants had pushed for massive investment in education, entrepreneurship and ICT to address youth unemployment and restiveness.

What you should know

• The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), an agency set up for the monitoring and maintenance of roads, recently announced that the ongoing rehabilitation works of a section of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway was 88% complete.
• The South West 2 Zonal Coordinator for FERMA, Mr Rufus Onimisi, said that the project contractors (Wizchino Engineering Ltd) were fast-tracking the implementation of the project which spanned Igboelerin to Agbara.
• The extensive reconstruction of the expressway, which began in 2010, involves the widening of the road from 4 lanes to 10 lanes for vehicles, and a new mass transit line that will operate in the median.
• The project, which has faced a series of delays, also includes a light rail project with train stations.