A rights activist and pro-democracy advocate, Comrade Soyoye Ekundayo, has described as ‘heart-warming’, the assurance given by the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), that the Lagos-Badagry expressway has not been abandoned by the Federal Government.
Comrade Ekundayo, who is Convener of the Progressive Volunteers, in a chat with newsmen, in Badagry, on Friday said, explanation given by the honourable Minister about why the road has not been fixed was assuring enough to believe that, the project is still under focus.
According to the activist, “Fashola is a man whose words can be taken to the market because he is not given for frivolities and vain glory because of his impeccable character, pointing out that, given the priority President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration gives to infrastructure development in Nigeria, whatever the minister in charge says must be taken as the gospel truth”.
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Ekundayo reminded that the minister assured during an inspection tour of road projects in Lagos State that the on-going Lagos-Badagry Expressway rehabilitation/reconstruction project has not been forgotten but on the 2021 Sukuk funding priority list and that major drainage works were on-going and progressing to upgrade the highway from its old status to ensure durable construction.
The youthful right activist was excited to hear the minister say that, “the funding challenges delaying the completion of the project were being resolved,” expressing the delight that Fashola also announced that the government would look at a few more roads to add into it.”
Against this backdrop, Ekundayo therefore urged the people to be patient and give the government more support to encourage it to keep on keeping its eyes on the project with a view to accelerating actions on it when funds are eventually available, asserting that, “since BRF is involved, we can be assured that the project is as good as been done.”
He, therefore, solicited for the cooperation of the motorists as well as other road users to bear with the government since it has communicated its plans on the road to the populace, commending the President Buhari administration for bridging communication gap that could cause undue suspicion from the public.
Concluding, Ekundayo expressed the conviction that, no reasonable government would ignore a route as important as Lagos-Badagry expressway because of its vital economic role, adding that, besides its economic importance, it also serves as an image booster being a gateway to other neighbouring countries.
