Ambode completed 54 Roads, abandoned 74, says Tracka

A transparency and accountability civic society, Tracka, has revealed the number of roads completed and those abandoned by the Lagos State Government.

Tracka explains that while the breakdown of the total money spent cost remains unknown, it has tracked 181 roads which the Lagos State Government flagged off for construction in 2018 across the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state.

Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Ade Akinsanya said in a press statement on February 2018 that the construction of the “181 Council Roads” was in fulfillment of the promise by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to open up more inner roads across the state.

According to the Commissioner, “the roads will be done in phases. The first phase consists of 57 roads cutting across the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas.” Overall, the project was budgeted for 18.5 billion Naira (N18,545,657,940.00).

Tracka deployed two Field Officers to monitor, very closely, the progress of the projects vis-à-vis budget implementation and quality delivery.

“Given the population and rising number of industries in Lagos, the government’s effort to repair roads, reduce mishaps and ease traffic is duly commendable,” Tracka said in its findings.

“However, it is imperative to note that the financial breakdown of the projects remains secret. The only information in the public space is the gross amount allocated for the roads and the part payment by the state government. As such, the quest for transparency and accountability is fiercely strangled by the government,” Damen Ilevbaoje, team lead at Tracka said.

What did Tracka find?

Out of 175 roads tracked by our team, only 54 are completed; 38 are ongoing while eight bear unspecified locations, all at the time of our last visit in February 2019.

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Tracka reports that a higher number of the roads (74) are yet to be constructed.

“More surprisingly, a  number of roads that have been completed in the 114 Roads in 2016 are recaptured in the new project (e.g. Community Road in Alimosho LGA).

“Aside from abandoned roads, some projects have been left off worse than they actually were before the intervention, making life harder for commuters and members of the community. A typical case is Ayilara street in Surulere LGA.

“Finally, we observed some glitches in the construction of certain routes ranging from poor quality to contractors’ disappearance from sites to lack of proper implementation.

“In specific terms, the use of substandard materials like asphalt and bitumen, which often lead to the short lifespan of roads, is also recorded,” Ilevbaoje added.