Kunle Adelabu with Simire God’sgift Oluwatobiloba, Olaleye Taiwo Deborah & Taiwo Kudirat Oluwatoyin (SIWES Students)
The Site Engineer of the HiTech Construction Company handling the construction of the Igbogbo – Bola Tinubu – Igbe Laara Road, Mr George Nehme, has confirmed that the sum of N1billion has been released for the project which he said would cover a bypass.
Nehme, who spoke with THE IMPACT on site where the company is working close to the Igbogbo cemetery, also said that the sum does not cover the abandoned Afa bridge which is close to Igbe Laara.
He blamed the delayed payment by the Lagos State Government, for the delay in completing the road.
THE IMPACT had weeks back reported that the Lagos State Government had remobilized both HiTech and the Arab Contractors that are handling the reconstruction of Gberigbe Road. However, while Arab Contractors moved back to site almost immediately, HiTech did not until about two weeks ago.
It was gathered that the construction company had focus on the Agric – Owutu road which it is also handling.
“We began this project in 2017, but construction has been intermittent due to delayed payments. Currently, our budget only covers one road, which we call the left side. We received 1 billion naira for this side, but not for the other side. As a result, we only have a bypass and no bridge on the lgbe-laara side”, he said.
While stating that it is not the company’s fault that the construction of the road is delayed, a situation that has caused untoward hardship for the residents, Nehme added that the company is also working on payment made by the government.
“Honestly, I’m tired too. We’ve been working on this road for seven years due to government payment issues. My approach is simple: if I’m paid 40%, I’ll do 40%; if it’s 50%, I’ll do that much. We should finish this road in two months. Next week, I’ll start working on the drainage. I’ve also promised the King of Igbogbo, a friend of mine, that if there are remaining funds from the left side’s construction, I’ll initiate some work on the right side”.
He charged the Lagos State Government to ensure adequate payment so that the company can finish the project in good time.
“My message is for the government; please, pay up quickly so we can finish our job”, he said.
Meanwhile, residents and motorists have continued to lament the negative effects of the road on them.
Mrs Onomola, a resident of Igbogbo who said that she was a trader before becoming a tricyclist, while welcoming the construction company back on site, also call on the government to ensure that the projet is completed on time.
“The road is causing damages to our tricycles. In this area, water enters everywhere and it’s seriously affecting us. When I had a shop, that was before becoming a tricyclist, each time it rains, my shop is always flooded. House owners also complain of water entering their houses.
“The road is really affecting everybody, but now that the construction has resumed, it’s fair and better than before. We ask the government to make complete construction faster and not just stopping and resuming later, because it’s really affecting everybody”, he pleaded.
Another resident, Mrs Iluyomade, while speaking with our reporter, complained about dust. She pleaded with the government for timely completion.
“The road is really affecting us, and dust always enters the houses and the shops. We have to dust and clean every day. We can’t even sit outside the shop because of the dust.
“The construction has been stopped for the past two years and it resumed last two weeks. We are pleading with the government to ensure that the road is completed. We are really in a very terrible situation.
“We experience motorbikes falling all the time, sometimes caused by the slippery road. We are pleading that the government should hasten the completion of the project”, she too pleaded.
Another resident who not want his name in print said, that the dusty state of the road is causing serious health challenges.
“I am concerned about the effects of the road on people’s health. It’s really affecting people’s health. For example, I pass here every day to get my kids drugs for symptoms like cough, running nose among others. The running nose is much with tissue coming out of their noses. We have taken them to the hospital twice in the last five weeks.
“The situation is also affecting me and other residents.
“We want the government to speed up the project so that residents can heave a sigh of relief”, she said.
Residents of Igbe Laara have continually called on the governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo – Olu, to save their souls and ensure that the HiTech Construction Company complete the abandoned Afa bridge which has been causing them hardship, especially whenever it rains.
The residents are usually cut – off completely whenever it rains, thereby, preventing them from going about their daily businesses and also making it difficult for their children to go to school.
The Afa flood claimed a young man’s life some months back, and has also caused damages to several vehicles.
Recalled that the representative of Ikorodu Federal Constituency, Rep. Babajimi Benson, had, on Monday during the flag – off of the trauma centre that he facilitated at the General Hospital and which groundbreaking ceremony was performed by the Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, had called on the government to ensure that the three major roads that construction work have been going on for about eight years, are completed in good time.
He said that the incompletion of the Igbogbo Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Owutu – Ishawo abd Gberigbe roads, has overshadowed the numerous projects that the government has executed in Ikorodu Division.
