17th August, 2016
Some road users in Lagos on Wednesday renewed calls on the Federal Government to repair the distressed Apapa/Tin Can Island road, to reduce gridlock and hardships on the users.
The road users made the call in interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
They complained that the bad road was causing avoidable accidents and loss of man-hours, on a daily basis.
Alhaji Kabiru Saleh, a businessman, said that the bad road was affecting economic activities and the health of the road users.
“Everyday, you sit for hours trying to get in or out of Apapa and it is causing a lot of stress that can lead to various health challenges.
“Apart from the stress and the health of the users, the revenue government is losing due to these unnecessary delays should also be taken into consideration,” he stressed.
Mrs Linda Badmus, a Civil Servant, urged government to urgently repair the road.
“Everyday, we spend several hours on this road before we get to our offices and when we do get to our offices, we are already exhausted; we are really suffering,” she said.
Miss Feyi Lemo, a banker, said that it was difficult for commuters to access Apapa due to the bad nature of the road.
“Buses going to Oshodi now stop at Coconut bus stop because they cannot pass through the gullies and instead of commuters paying just N100, they now pay N150 or N2OO to take bikes to Coconut bus stop, to board other buses.
“Apart from the risk of taking commercial motorcycle through those gullies, we also face the risk of accidents because containers fall around there frequently,” she said.
A food vendor, Mrs Lara Oluwafemi, also urged the state government or the FG to urgently fix the road.
“Government knows what to do, if they really care about the sufferings of people in the area.
“This road is very important to government because of the ports and the Government is making a lot of money here. One, therefore, wonders why they are neglecting the road,” she noted.
A truck driver, Mr Aboy Okudili, said that articulated vehicles suffered more discomfort on the highway because of the bad road.
“You can see that this road is bad and there is no way to avoid accidents here because of the gullies, but government agencies still penalise us for accidents.
“I hope that the Federal Government will do something about the situation urgently,” he said.
An official of the Federal Ministry of Works, who does not want to be mentioned, told NAN that the ministry was finalising arrangements to mobilise a major construction company to repair the road.
NAN correspondents who visited the highway on Wednesday report that there were gullies on both the Oshodi and Apapa bound carriageways between the Tin Can Island’s first and second gates.
The depth of the gullies made it difficult for small vehicles to use the road, but the articulated vehicles were able to meander carefully, causing heavy gridlock.
The commercial motorcycle operators making brisk business in the area, however, navigate dangerously in between the articulated vehicles.