Article summary
- The Federal Government attributed the delay in the commissioning of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to the non-completion of a critical section in the 4-kilometer last mile to Lagos due to the discovery of black-cutting soil under the pavement.
- The change is due to a delay caused by the discovery of black-cutting soil under a critical section of the road, prompting the government to replace it for a proper job.
- The new commissioning date for the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is set for June 30, with President Buhari virtually commissioning other projects across the country.
The Federal Government has explained why the incoming administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu will now commission the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as against the earlier plan of having President Muhammadu Buhari commission the project before he leaves office.
The government attributed the change of plans to the delay in the non-completion of a critical section in the 4-kilometer last mile to Lagos due to the discovery of black-cutting soil under the pavement.
This was made known on Tuesday by the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, during an extraordinary Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the chamber in the State House, Abuja.
Fashola said the Federal Government decided to remove it and replace it so that a proper job will be done instead of being in a hurry to commission it.
The new commissioning date is now June 30
The minister said the planned date for the commissioning of the crucial public asset (Lagos-Ibadan Expressway) is June 30.
- Fashola said, “There is a critical section in the four-kilometer last mile to Lagos. It is technical but what has delayed it is that we found black cutting soil under the pavement,” he stated.
- “We have decided that we will remove it and replace it so that we do a proper job instead of being in a hurry to commission it. That will be deferred to the next administration and the expected completion date is the 30th of June.”
Thereafter, Fashola invited President Buhari to virtually commission some projects embarked upon by his ministry across the country.
They include the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Federal Secretariat in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State; the Ebele Okeke Federal Secretariat in Awka, Anambra State; and Malam Yahaya Gusau Federal Secretariat in Gusau, Zamfara State.
Others are the Loko-Oweto Bridge linking Nasarawa and Benue States, the Ikom Bridge in Cross River State while the Road project is the completed section of the over 200 kilometers of the Kano-Kaduna Dual Carriage Expressway
The minister also explained that the newly commissioned Second Niger Bridge has been named after President Buhari.
- He said, “And because my colleagues in cabinet and the governors of the South-East who have spoken to me have decided that the Second Niger Bridge must have a name, in consultation with them, we have decided we would also declare open the Muhammadu Buhari Second Niger Bridge linking Anambra State and Delta.’’
What you should know
The Lagos–Ibadan Expressway project, which has faced a series of delays and setbacks, is a 127.6-kilometer-long expressway connecting Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, and Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city.
The expressway is the major route to the northern, southern, and eastern parts of Nigeria, in addition to being the busiest inter-state route in the country, handling over 250,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) daily. It constitutes one of the largest road networks in Africa.
The contract was awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria and Reynolds Construction Company Limited at a sum of N167 billion.
The Federal Government had earlier said that the Lagos-Ibadan expressway will be completed by the end of April, a development that was supposed to be a huge relief to motorists and commuters.
However, in March 2023, it stated that the recent fuel scarcity and cash shortages were unforeseen factors that have stalled the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
