August 24, 2024.
By Samuel Ogunsona
The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has announced the commencement of the comprehensive reconstruction of the 70-kilometer Lagos-Sango Ota-Abeokuta Road.
This critical artery, plagued by neglect for decades, is poised for a transformation into a world-class highway.
Craneburg, the contracted firm, has been mobilizing equipment to the site since August 13th, initiating palliative measures to make one side of the road motorable. Completed palliative works span Sango-Ota, Pakoto, Ifo, Ewekoro, Itori, and Obada, featuring stone bases to ease travel during reconstruction.
The federal government-owned road has suffered from disrepair for over 20 years. Following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration handing it over to the state government this year, Governor Abiodun highlighted bureaucratic bottlenecks as the primary obstacle to reconstruction.
Abiodun recalled joint efforts by Ogun and Lagos state governments to take over and reconstruct the expressway, citing frustration with federal delays.
According to the governor, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the federal government was approached again for the transfer of the road to the state, a request that was granted.
He said: “The Abeokuta-Ota-Lagos road is a federal government road and has been in very bad shape for long. Because of the suffering our people endure on the road, my counterpart in Lagos and I jointly wrote a letter using a single letterhead to the federal executive council, seeking the transfer of that road for us to reconstruct.
“After waiting for a month without a 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 had been awarded since May this year.”
