Lagosians Demand Fairness On 114 Rural Road Projects

Lagosians Demand Fairness On 114 Rural Road Projects

Lagosians Demand Fairness On 114 Rural Road Projects

THE approval for rehabilitation of 114
roads across the 20 Local Governments
and 37 Local Council Development Areas
(LCDAs) of Lagos State, by Governor
Akinwunmi Ambode, was expected to
elicit applause across the state, but
instead, it generated condemnation and
disapproval.
Though the move, according to the
governor, is in fulfillment of one of his
campaign promises of investing
massively in the construction of rural
roads, critics are however; against the
manner projects will be executed.
It could be recalled that Ambode, at the
monthly meeting of the Executive
Secretaries of the 57 council areas, last
month, unveiled plans to commence the
reconstruction of two roads in each of
the councils, mandating council heads to
pick roads of their choice, noting that
the execution of the project will be left
in their care.
One of those against the decision, Mr.
Jacobson Olumbeku, a community leader
in Abule-Egba area of the state, said the
choice of the roads did not follow due
process, a move that might not reflect the
opinion of the people at the grassroots.
He noted that in terms of capacity, local
government administration in the state
has degenerated to a level where they
cannot handle road construction
projects.
Investigations showed that majority of
the link roads have broken down
completely, beyond what the local
governments can handle, unlike in the
past.
The third tier of government used to be
vibrant in the state; working assiduously
to beautify and provide necessary
amenities that would affect the lives of
people at the grassroots positively, but
reverse is the case at present.
The quality of elective officers at the
councils, in the last few years, has
dropped, according to Madam Jejelola
Okunade, a retired civil servant. She
noted that handling of projects of that
caliber might be too much for Executive
Secretaries, majority of whom might use
the project as conduit pipes to siphon
public funds.
“Rather than giving them the freedom to
pick the roads, Ambode should have
sought the opinion of community leaders
or residents of the councils to decide on
roads that might be of priority to them.
Government is about carrying people
along. A lot of people would say he might
not have the time to carry out the
survey; did he not create time to visit the
councils when he was seeking for their
votes?”
But the Special Adviser to the governor
on Communication and Community
Affairs, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan claimed
that there was a consultative process,
through which the councils sought the
opinion of the Community Development
Associations (CDAs), which led to the
presentation of 10 roads each, out of
which five were taken by the councils,
which led to the choice of the roads
submitted to the governor.
While speaking in a chat with The
Guardian, he assured that when the
execution begins, the CDAs would be
carried along in the area of monitoring.