Ogun State Government has said that work is yet to begin on the reconstruction of Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Expressway because it is still awaiting the final approval of the concessioning of the road from the Federal Government.
It would be recalled that the Minister of Works, David Umahi, had announced in October last year during a briefing after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Aso Villa that the Federal Government had finally concessioned the all-important road to the Ogun State Government to reconstruct after several efforts made to that effect by the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration.
The reconstruction was to be carried out under the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI), with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and the Federal Ministry of Finance, to be involved in the process.
Special Adviser to Ogun State Governor on Media, Kayode Akinmade, who spoke on the latest development, yesterday, said that although there was a presidential approval for the concessioning, there is no Extract from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approving the concessioning.
According to Akinmade, the procedure for the concessioning is not complete without FEC’s Extract paper.
He said that after deliberation and approval, the FEC would have issued an Extract from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) transferring the road to Ogun State Government.
The special adviser said that the Ogun State Government is waiting anxiously for FEC’s nod to proceed with the project, adding that the FEC Extract is needed to raise funds for the project and also discuss with investors.
Commissioner for Works, Ade Akinsanya, had earlier said that the state had been providing palliatives to make the roughly 70 kilometres road manageable for motorists.
“Ogun State has been rehabilitating the road since 2019. We keep doing palliative works because the governor is always concerned about the suffering being experienced by the people. He remained concerned about the deplorable state of the road until he got what he wanted from the Federal Government.
“With the transfer done now, we are happy and ready to immediately take over the project and turn around the fortunes of the road. It’s what we’ve been looking for and praying for since we came on board. We will take over immediately, subject to paperwork between us and the federal ministry,” he had said.
