Former chairman of the House Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mufutau Egberongbe, has commended the Dangote Construction Company, a subsidiary of Dangote Group for undertaking to fix the broken down section of the road leading to the Lagos Ports in the Apapa area of the state.
The road had been a death trap for years resulting in heavy traffic challenges and insecurity.
The company owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is to spend billions of naira on the reconstruction as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.
According to a report, the road will be reconstructed from the Apapa Port to join Ijora Bridge at Leventist Bus Stop. The Federal Government has approved the project.
Egberongbe, the Special Assistant to Speaker Mudashiru Obasa on Political and Legislative Matters and who represented one of the Apapa constituencies between 2007 and 2015 said he was elated like every other resident of the area.
He pleaded with residents and stakeholders in the transport sector in the area to support the construction company for the benefit of people in the area.
“I want to thank Dangote for this lofty gesture. I also plead with other companies in Apapa to take a clue from him. No contribution to the development of Apapa is too small.
“In whatever way we can help, let us do that for the overall peace and stability of businesses and living in the area,” Egberongbe said.
He also commended Senator Oluremi Tinubu for taking up the challenge to draw government attention to the state of the road.
“Some days ago, Senator Oluremi Tinubu moved a motion in the Senate concerning the need to work on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and the relocation of tanks farms from that area to either Lekki or Ikorodu. The senate agreed that the Ministry of Works should act on it.
“I want to commend her and the Senate for coming to our rescue on this and further plead with the Senators to continue to shine their light on issues affecting the Apapa since that area generates revenue for the Federal Government.
Egberongbe said the tanks farms should be relocated to the Lekki Free Trade Zone because that is where they are cited in the original plan.
“When this is done, the issue of traffic would be a thing of the past in Apapa.
“I am also appealing to Senator Oluremi Tinubu to take up the issue of rail transport especially in the Apapa area of Lagos State.
“This would reduce the number of heavy duty vehicles that enter Apapa on a daily basis. It would also help boost business activities and reduce road accidents in the area,” he said.
Egberongbe spent most of his years at the Lagos Assembly calling attention to the plights of Apapa residents as a result of the carelessness of tanker drivers, the poor state of the roads and citing of tank farms in residential areas.
Part of the efforts was a letter he wrote to the state government under former Governor Babatunde Fashola for the government to urgently come to the aid of the people.
The former governor visited the several times speaking with tanker drivers and other stakeholders. But this move only brought temporary respite to the people.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.