The Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Wednesday expressed
dismay that the Federal Ministry of Works, under a former governor of
the state, Babatunde Fashola, could be the one frustrating his
administration’s projects.
Among the projects he accused Fashola
of frustrating is the state government’s plan to carry out a total
reconstruction of the International Airport Road from Oshodi.
Ambode
expressed this worry when he spoke with government house correspondents
at the Lagos House as soon as he finished carrying out an extensive
inspection of some critical projects in the state.
According to
the governor, the current state of the Muritala Muhammed International
Airport Road has become a national disgrace and needs urgent attention.
Adding
that his administration at the moment has a design for the
reconstruction of the road as well as the funds to embark on the
project, he however regretted that the Federal Ministry of Work under
Fashola was yet to grant the approval.
“The road linking Oshodi to
the International Airport, you would all agree with me is a national
embarrassment. In the spirit of the regeneration and urbanisation that
this administration has set out to achieve, we believe strongly that the
image that is exhumed by the decadence of that road must be repaired
and we took it upon ourselves to appropriate the 2017 budget that the
House of Assembly should approve the total reconstruction of the Airport
Road from Oshodi to the International Airport.
“The state
currently has a design of 10 lanes to come from Oshodi to the
international airport with interchange and flyover that would drop you
towards the local airport. The contractor is already set to go and
everything as I said has been completed and we already have the cash,
but alas we are having challenges with the Federal Ministry of Works and
Housing. This is a federal and not a state road. The Federal Ministry
of Works believes that they should do the road, but they have not been
able to do it all these years past,” he said.
Ambode, who lamented
that the federal government was indebted to the state to the tune of
N51 billion spent on repairing federal roads over the years, wondered
why Federal Government is refusing to approve his administration’s
effort to immediately transform the airport road to world class
standard.
Ambode
said, “I just want to remind Lagosians that prior to my becoming
governor the Federal Ministry of Works owed Lagos State a total of
N51billion as reimbursement for reconstruction that was carried out by
the state government on federal roads in the state.
“So obviously,
what we are asking for is that whatever it is that we are asking for,
it can never be up to the N51billion that they owe us.
“I just
want to appeal to the Federal Ministry of Works, to let go or reimburse
us with whatever it is that they owe us and even if they are not willing
to pay us now, we have the money to do it. It is a national disgrace
and we would not be part of it. We would like to do it as part of the
celebration of Lagos at 50.”
Ambode further regretted that six
months after President Muhammadu Buhari approved the handover of the
Presidential Lodge, Marina, the state government was yet to gain access
into the premises.
“One of the key venues that we need to
celebrate the real essence of Lagos, the historic place that we refer to
as Presidential Lodge is still more or less being tossed about in terms
of being handed over to us. We believe strongly that by May 27, 2017,
we should be able to invite Mr. President and other people who have
actually made Lagos what is it today to that Presidential Lodge for the
final banquet and dinner to mark Lagos at 50.
“As we speak, we are
yet gain entrance into that place and this is frustrating our
programme. So I want to use this medium to appeal and say that the
approval of Mr. President should be rightly honoured and the agencies
concerned, that is the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and the
Security Services should honour that promise by Mr. President. We just
believe strongly that we must proceed to gain access into that place so
that we can roll out our programmes for Lagos at 50,” he said.
