Bariga residents have lamented over an abandoned road project by Lagos State Building Construction Agency (LASBCA). They said that despite the fact that shops and houses were demolished to reconstruct the Bariga-Akoka Road, construction has been abandoned for almost two years.
Expectedly, it has had a negative impact on commercial activities, crippling sales and intra-city shuttle, especially from Pako Bus Stop to Bariga Market axis.
A resident, Mrs. Salami Mary, said: “They started demolishing shops to create proper road space. But they stopped, all of a sudden, in January 2021 and continued again in December. But, they finally abandoned it in December 2022.”
Also speaking, a commuter that plies the road often, who identified herself as Mrs. Yusuf, stated: “This road has caused a lot of problems to many people going to and fro this axis. The cost of transportation has gone up due to the traffic caused by the abandoned road.
“It has really affected many of us working along this Akoka axis. We don’t know why they abandoned the road. We thought they would finish it before this year’s elections.”
Another commuter, Mrs. Akanni Grace, claimed that the project was abandoned shortly after work started, adding that the road has become a nightmare to residents.
“It’s over two years now; it has been abandoned and since then, we have not seen any improvement.” A motorist, Mr. Adekunle Martins, who plies the route daily, said: “Before now, we complained about the increase in the price of fuel. Now, it is the road that is causing delay. People living in this area are not finding it easy. If you observe, tricycles don’t convey passengers from here again. Conveying passengers from here to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) gate now takes almost one hour, 30 minutes. Before now, getting to the same distance took a maximum of 30 minutes.
“Now, most of the tricycle riders convey passengers only from Univerity of Lagos (UNILAG) gate to Akoka because the road from Akoka to Bariga affects the engine of the machine badly due to many potholes.”
Another commuter who identified herself simply as Mrs. Ogunmola lamented the situation of the road. She said: “From Bariga down to UNILAG is not an easy task at all. Students have to wait 30 minutes to 45 minutes before getting a vehicle to convey them to their destinations.
“Meanwhile, some people said that the contractor constructing the road is late; we don’t know if it is true.
“So, we are appealing to the Lagos State government to look into this project and ensure its completion as soon as possible. The abandonment of the project is really affecting residents, especially students of UNILAG and Federal College of Education (F.C.E) students who ply the road daily.”
