Sanwo-Olu to FG: Provide funding for Lagos-Badagry Expressway

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has urged the Federal Government to provide adequate funding for the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, an international gateway to West African countries.

He said Lagos State government has taken a leap to start a 10-lanes highway on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway and already done almost 18 kilometres of the road. He, therefore, appealed to the Federal Ministry of Works to push it further and take it to Badagry.

Sanwo-Olu while receiving the House of Representatives committee on works led by its chairman, Abubakar Abubakar, during a courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Ikeja on Monday also tasked the Federal Government to speed up the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The governor, who commended the House of Representatives members for coming to Lagos for on-the-spot assessment of the works carried out in the state by the Federal Ministry of Works, said urgent action should be taken to work on the Otedola Bridge area of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, to prevent regular accidents on the axis.

“We are happy with the level of work that has been done on Apapa-Oshodi Road but we need to go back to do a lot of clean-up. There is still a side road that has not been completed. We know this is a special dispensation given the Order 8 that has been used but we can still go back and clean up the areas, especially around the Tin-Can Port and Apapa Port, so that we can free the traffic in all those areas and take it up to Ijora.

“Lagos-Badagry Expressway is one that I am aware of that doesn’t have sufficient funding. Lagos-Badagry Expressway is an international gateway. We hear that Ghana, Republic of Benin and Togo have done their own; it is a trans-West Africa corridor that five countries pass through. But it is only the Nigerian part of it that has not been fully fixed, which is from Seme border into Lagos and go straight to the port.

“Lagos on its own has taken the leap to start something. So, we are doing a 10-lanes highway and we have done almost 18 kilometres of that and we are taking it to a place called Okokomaiko. We have been expecting the Federal Government to take it to Badagry,” said Sanwo-Olu.

Earlier, Abubakar said his committee has reached out to the contractor in charge of the Marine and Eko Bridge and they promised that the project will be completed in four weeks’ time, adding that the committee is also working on a new project in Lagos, which is Isolo-Mushin Road.