Ajegunle residents groan over neglect of 14-yr-old abandoned road

*Beg Fashola to come to their aid
By Ikenna Asomba

The sordid condition of the Ottor-Wharf/Ajegunle Road

Residents of Ajegunle in Ajeromi/Ifelodun 
 (AJIF) Local Government Area of Lagos State, have appealed to Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State to provide palliative measures to the dilapidated Otto-Wharf/Awodi-Ora Road, which links the community to the ever-busy Oshodi/Apapa Expressway.

...How worst the road has gone

 

According to them, this call became necessary as the rains are here again, which worsens the condition of the road, making it inaccessible for motorists, motorcyclists, tricyclists and other road users.

Speaking to NIGERIANCOMPATRIOT, a motorist Kingsley Amadi said: "This particular road is the worst road in the community. It has been like this for long and government has never cared to do anything about it, despite what we suffer, especially during rainy seasons. For more than 10 years now, Julius Berger (JB) construction company has been the one resurfacing this road, but they have refused to do anything this time around."

...What a death trap

Asked why, he retorted, "The Local government (AJIF), is the cause. I learnt the council chairman asked Julius Berger to pay a whooping N5, 000, 000 to the council before they (JB) could be allowed to repair the road. This is wicked of the council administration. We are suffering here. So, I urge Governor Fashola to come to our aid, just like he has been doing for other local government areas."

...Come to our aid, motorists, others cry out

For Kehinde Badamosi, an okada rider, "The Local government chairman is wicked. The money is there to repair this road, but he doesn't want to act on it. May be because he doesn't ply this route, so he doesn't understand the hell we are passing through on daily basis. Our passengers do complain that we charge them high, but they fail to understand that this bad road is the cause of it. I urge the concerned authority to repair this road or is it when one of these container-loaded trailers fall on this road and kills people that they will repair the road," quizzed Badamosi.

However, when contacted, the Council boss, Hon. Kamal Ayinde Bayewu, in a swift reaction, claimed that his administration never at any point, demanded such a whooping sum from JB to repair the dilapidated
road.

His words: "It's never true. This road in question is a State road and not a Local government road, so if Julius Berger willingly accepts responsibility to reconstruct the road, won't it be stupid of us to demand such a crazy sum from them before they could fix it up."

Bayewu, however explained that "sometime last year, Julius Berger approached the council that they would like to repair the road, but that we (the council) will provide 10 per cent of the money, which we agreed. But till date, we have not heard anything from them.So those alleging that we asked Berger to pay us N5 million before they could fix up a road that will benefit everyone, are only talking out of ignorance," adding, "you can contact Julius Berger to confirm this fact," he noted.

Meanwhile, efforts made to get in touch with the heads of Julius Berger as at the time of Press proved abortive as the Security personnel we met at their yard along the Oshodi/Apapa Expressway referred us to their office at Ijora/Causeway, Lagos.