CYRIACUS IZUEKWE
The coalition of Civil Society Organizations on Wednesday protested and barricaded the Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway demanding an immediate rehabilitation of the road, which has turned to death trap over the years.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the group comprising CHSR, CPCPR, FSERS, CDHR, WIN, CWI, CAJ and others, converged at the Meiran junction axis of the expressway displaying placards with different inscriptions, which caused temporary traffic on the bad road for motorists.
Some of the inscriptions boldly written on the placards included “We need good roads” , “Our roads are death traps,”FG listen to the people and give us good road” , “grade Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway among others to the admiration of the residents.
The leader of the coalition, Comrade Alex Omotehinse, stated that the road has caused serious problems to the motorists and caused several untimely deaths and yet both the Federal and Lagos State Governments refused to do anything about it.
He explained that the group decided to come to the road and register their displeasure over the negligence of the road over the years as the Government owes the people good governance by providing good roads.
Comrade Alex Omotehinse recalled that due to the bad situation of the road, several accidents have occurred and many lives have as well been lost. And rather for the Government to rehabilitate the roads, their agencies use the opportunity to torment the people through various agencies such Task Force, LASTMA, Police and use the offence of driving against traffic to extort from the motorists on daily basis on the road.
He noted that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu promised Nigerians “Renewed Hope” and he should demonstrate that by rehabilitating Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway to alleviate the suffering of the people who pass through the road that cut across States.
He also called on the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to do something on the road and not claim that the road belongs to the Federal Government and the State cannot build the road. He cited Ogun State and other State Governors who have intervened in the past by rehabilitating such roads to ease the suffering of the people.
He advised that if the Government cannot rehabilitate the road immediately, they should remedy the ugly situation by sand filling it to make it motorable pending the time they will rehabilitate the road.
Some of the leaders of the group spoke in similar manner and stated that if the Government at both the Federal and Lagos State levels do not listen to the urgent demand for the rehabilitation of the road, the group will take further steps to compel the Government legally to rehabilitate the road.
The peaceful protest lasted for several hours with members of the of the coalition marching along the road with solidarity songs, which eventually ended at the Secretariat of the group and was equally monitored by security agencies comprising DSS, Police and Civil Defence.