Residents of communities along the Lagos/Abeokuta express road and motorists plying the route have raised alarm over alleged exclusion of the popular road from the list of roads slated for rehabilitation by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) this year. The road suffered the same fate last year, when it was excluded from the 2015 budgetary provisions, leading to its being neglected all through the year.

Residents and commuters condemned the neglect by both the federal and state governments, warning that if no attention was given to the road in the next few days, their agony and plight of road users would increase.

The Guardian had observed that from the list of 186 roads published in a national daily on Monday, June 13, 2016, titled; “Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) Headquarters, Invitation For Prequalification, General Maintenance Repairs of Some Federal Roads Nationwide and Construction of FERMA State Field Office In FCT”, the road was conspicuously missing, though roads of less importance were listed.

The four roads listed for rehabilitation in the state are Sango/Otta-Idiroko road, Ijebu Ode-Itele road, Owode-Ilaro road, and Sagamu-Ogijo road. Though these roads equally need attention, but the ignored road seems to be more important, considering the heavy vehicular traffic on it daily from Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of the country.

The road was awarded in 2001 from Ita-Oshin, Abeokuta to Ile-Zik, Ikeja area of Lagos by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration but abandoned three years ago by Julius Berger Plc. due to paucity of fund, and now at the mercy of FERMA, which has been carrying out palliatives measures, regarded as inadequate for a road of that nature.

Motorists have had to endure agonising moments on the road, hoping funds would be released for its repair when the budget is passed. But that hope was dashed, when residents discovered the road was conspicuously missing from the government list.

Wth the incessant rainfall, the road has gone from bad to worse. As it is now, journeying on this road is a nightmare for motorists and commuters alike.

The most horrible areas now are the Sango Garage in Joju (opposite IBEDC office), Owode, Iyana-Ilogbo and Ilepa. Traffic in these areas is usually at a standstill, defying all known solutions. The police and traffic control officials are always helpless, as the situation is beyond their control.

The trip from Sango to Ifo, which should ordinarily not exceed 20 minutes, may take up to one and a half hours, depending on the time of the day.

The valley at the Joju junction and the craters at Conoil, Owode, Iyana-Ilogbo and Ilepa are mainly responsible for the condition. Motorists spend close to 40 minutes navigating through each of these places. The failed portions are even getting wider by the day with the incessant rain, causing more discomfort to road users.

For example, many vehicles had been trapped at the Owode spot on several occasions in the past. As at the last count, five fuel tankers had spilled their contents on the spot after getting stuck and then falling down.

The unfortunate thing is that there is no link road that can serve as alternatives for trapped motorists.

A motorist, Mr. Sidick Olusegun, who related his daily experience to The Guardian, said both the federal and state governments should cover their faces in shame.

“Considering efforts of the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, who, through the State Public Works Department fixed the dreadful Ile-Epo/Oja and Dopemu roads among others, the Ogun State governor ought to toe that line, as the road is within Ado-Odo/Ota council area, where the state gets a large chunk of its internally generated revenue (IGR), since the federal government and its agency, FERMA have failed in their constitutional duty to maintain the road.”

He appealed to those responsible for road maintenance to repair the road so as to avoid incurring the wrath of the masses that voted them into power.

When the FERMA boss in charge of Lagos West, Engr. Kehinde Afolabi was contacted, he allayed road users’ fears, saying that the road would be fixed within the shortest possible time.

“The only thing I can say is that I have forwarded my budget,” he explained. “Probably it has not been attended to, but that does not mean that other actions won’t be taken. We can always embark on small-scale repairs jobs such as direct labour and emergency intervention of critical sections. Federal Government is still on top of the situation.

“If there is any critical issue such as the one that existed in Dopemu, but which we have fixed, we will always do our best. We know that from Sango upward is now critical and it has been noted and very soon, we’ll do it. We’ve been appealing to the masses, especially now that the country is facing hard times, that they should be rest assured that we are going to do something about it.”