THE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ogun State Branch on Thursday protested in Sango-Otta against the deplorable conditions of roads in the state.
In a statement made available to The ICIR, the lawyers lamented the condition of roads in the GateWay state, expressing concerns that the poor state of the roads has led to the loss of lives and caused bodily injuries on commuters.
Chairman of the association, Isaac Ogbah who signed the statement specifically cited Sango-Ota-Owode-Idiroko expressway, Atan-Agbara expressway and the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, among others that have been causing major accidents in the state.
“Bad roads in Nigeria cause Nigerians annual losses in terms of vehicle maintenance, the estimated sum of N133.8 billion. Out of every two vehicles you see on Nigerian roads today, one must be damaged and perhaps, off the road, within a month,” Ogbah said.
According to him, the bad condition of the roads has contributed to the incidents of robbery, kidnapping, sexual molestation and accidents.
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During the protest, an accident also happened as a result of the deplorable state of the Sango-Otta-Abeokuta road.
“Last year May, the Federal Government was reported to have awarded the re-habilitation of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, to Julius Berger Plc. The contract sum was N22.387 billion,” the NBA chairman said.
“Julius Berger Plc. came to fix less than one kilometer out of the over 50 kilometers road and up till this moment, no further substantial improvement has occurred on the road.”
“Most of the other roads in the Ota area are terrible, Obasanjo and Oju-Ore area, in particular, has become a nightmare, and a source of heartaches to the Ota people. It has taken the notoriety of Oshodi-Lagos of the old,” he added.
In a telephone chat with The ICIR, Ogbah said many properties have also been destroyed due to erosion within the Ota community stating that it is very difficult to travel to Lagos State through the Ijoko axis of Ogun State.
He also said the Itori-Ewekoro-Papa Alanto road is as worse as Iyana-Ilogbo, Papa-Sagamu Road and Sona-Igbala-Joju road.
The ICIR contacted the Permanent Secretary of Ogun State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure; Kayode Ademolake who said the ministry had spent over N15.8 billion on roads in six month.
He added that most of the roads being referred to by the NBA were federal roads and that the previous administration couldn’t have fixed all the roads in the state.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via labolade@icirnigeria.org, on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94