UPDATED: Lagos Assembly approves Sanwo-Olu’ N250b loan request, laments traffic congestion in the state
Ayodele Olalere
Lagos House of Assembly on Friday approved a loan request of N150billion by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The House also ordered contractors handling road construction across the state, as well as the Ministry of Works to embark on schedule maintenance of works so as to reduce traffic congestion in the state.
The lawmakers also urged the police to reduce checkpoints within the state while directing the state government to implement the effective use of water transportation.
The House gave the order and expressed worries over the neck breaking traffic being expressed in the state in a motion moved by Hon. Temitope Adewale, Ifako-Ijaiye 1 at Friday sittings.
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While moving the motion, Hon. Adewale said Lagosians are groaning under heavy traffic, and as such all government agencies must work to ensure traffic free Lagos.
” Lately, the traffic in Lagos is unbearable. I spent three hours to get to my house. I will urge Public Works Commission, PWC, to schedule construction works on weekends and work less hours during the weekdays especially rush hours. They can work between 11pm and 5am and have security agents work with them for security reasons.
Contractors handling railway construction especially the Ikeja railway crossing, should schedule their works so it won’t affect road users.”
Supporting the motion, Hon. Desmond Elliot appealed to Lagosians to bear with the state government with the ongoing construction works in the state but urged the contractors to ensure quality works are carried out in the road repairs.
” I will like to commend the government for being proactive. Lagos is synonymous with traffic bottlenecks as a result of influx of people into the state. We should know most of the roads are bad and under construction but Lagosians should have patience and endurance. At the end, we will be better for it.”
The Speaker of the House, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, said the state government should direct the Commissioner for Transport to “engage those working on rail construction to regulate construction hours.”
“We appreciate the police for being proactive but we don’t want them to block roads when checking vehicle papers. The Chairman, Task Force, Lagos State should join hands with LASTMA to address this issues,” he said.
The House also suspended the Chairman of Ifako-Ijaiye local government, Oloruntoba Oke, over misappropriation of a N350million loan to the council.
The suspension followed a petition written by councillors in the local government to the House against the chairman accusing him of highhandedness and failure to utilise the loan for the purpose it was meant for.
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A committee was set up by the House to investigate the allegations and came out with a report indicating the chairman of all accusations.
The House directed the Vice Chairman of the local government to take over the affairs of the council to serve as deterrent to other council chairmen who have turned themselves to Lords in their various councils and flout government policies at will.
A request for the approval for issuance of N100billion Bond and N150billion loan facility by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was also approved by the House.
