OLORUNDARE ENIMOLA, Lagos
Leaders and residents of communities bestriding the Sango-Ota - Idiroko road in Ogun State has called on Senator David Umahi, the Minister of Works and Housing to visit the ongoing construction work of the Sango-Ota-Idiroko road for assessment of the work handled by Laralek Construction Company, while using the visit to address impressions and public complaints arising from uncertainties about the road construction.
The call, according to the residents came amidst waves of reports coming from residents accusing the company of using substandard materials and inexperienced workers in the project, specifically citing issues with drainage collapse
The public also raised concerns about insufficient public information about the construction coupled with doubts about the quality of the ongoing works, leaving the public to wonder about the details of the construction in respect to the length, width, road furnitures, duration, road diversions, alternative routes made available and the needed for proper assessment of the work to ascertain conformity to agreed construction plans.
While appreciating the government for the reconstruction of the road, the visit of the Minister as a high ranking government will be highly comforting, shoring up public confidence, knowing that Minister Umahi is a stickler to quality and high professionalism when it comes to road construction across the Country.
The construction was on a hitherto very busy highway without adequate provision for alternative routes for the heavy vehicular movements, leading to daily massive traffic bedlams, especially during rain seasons, making the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, TRACE to work extra man hours to manage the traffic and ensure impediments against free flow of traffic are constantly removed.
A letter anonymously written to DAILY INDEPENDENT by a concerned resident reads; "I am writing to respectfully request that you inspect the ongoing road projects in Sango-Ota / Idi iroko Road. As you are aware, this project is crucial for improving the transportation infrastructure and economic development of the area.
"The projects in question linked Nigeria to the neighbouring countries, and I believe that your oversight and guidance would be invaluable in ensuring its timely completion and quality.
"Your inspection would not only boost the morale of the contractors and workers but also provide an opportunity for you to assess the progress and identify any challenges that need to be addressed.
"We would be grateful if you could schedule an inspection at your earliest convenience." The letter contained.
Another community leader who spoke on condition of anonymity said, "though the reconstruction of the day Ota-Idiroko road has long being sought for before we suddenly saw it started late last year and were very happy, but our joy was short lived when we saw the magnitude of properties destroyed to give right of way (RoW) to the construction and later discovered that the road's width was far narrower than what we expected, people began to wonder about the extent of the destruction of properties when the road is not wider than its original width afterall."
Another man whose Business is along the road and had some of his buildings demolished to pave way for the construction, expressed worries about the number of kilometres the construction will cover, saying, "people are insinuating that the road is being sponsored by Winners Chapel to pave way for easy movements of members to and fro the Church on service days and the entire construction will terminate at the entrance gate to the Church, leaving the remaining bad stretch from Winners to Atan in its deplorable state."
It is believed therefore that a visit by the Honourable Minister will allow the public to express their concerns and give ample opportunities to ask relevant questions in respect to the road construction.
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