‘Ambode Completed 54 Roads, Abandoned 74’

‘Ambode Completed 54 Roads, Abandoned 74’

A report by Tracka, a subsidiary of BudgIT, has revealed that out of 175 roads Governor Akinwunmi Ambode pledged to complete before the end of his tenure, only 54 had been completed as of February 2019.

A statement from the group pointed out that while the breakdown of the total cost of the project has remained unknown to members of the public, the Lagos State Government had in 2018 commenced the construction of 181 roads spread across the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state.

Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Ade Akinsanya, was quoted to have explained in statement then the construction of the 181 council roads was in fulfilment of the promise by the governor to open up more inner roads across the state.

According to the Commissioner, “the roads will be done in phases. The first phase consists of 57 roads cutting across the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas.”

Overall, the project was budgeted for N18.5 billion.

However, Tracka stated that it deployed two field officers to monitor, very closely, the progress of the projects vis-à-vis budget implementation and quality delivery.

“Given the population and rising number of industries in Lagos, the government’s effort to repair roads, reduce mishaps and ease traffic is duly commendable. However, it is imperative to note that the financial breakdown of the projects remains secret. “The only information in the public space is the gross amount allocated for the roads and the part payment by the state government. As such, the quest for transparency and accountability is fiercely strangled by the government.

“Out of 175 roads tracked by our team, only 54 are completed; 38 are ongoing while 8 bear unspecified locations, all at the time of our last visit in February 2019. Tracka confidently reports that a higher number of the roads (74) are yet to be constructed.”

Continuing, it pointed out that more surprisingly, was that a number of roads that had been completed in 2016 were recaptured in the new project. For example, it listed Community Road in Alimosho LGA).

“Aside from abandoned roads, some projects have been left off worse than they actually were before the intervention, making life harder for commuters and members of the community. A typical case is Ayilara street in Surulere LGA.

“Finally, we observed some glitches in the construction of certain routes ranging from poor quality to contractors’ disappearance from sites to lack of proper implementation. In specific terms, the use of substandard materials like Asphalt and Bitumen, which often lead to the short lifespan of roads, is also recorded,” it added.

Tracka, a subsidiary of BudgIT, engages in tracking the implementation of government projects to ensure service delivery.

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