Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Works and Housing has assured Lagosians that the Muhammadu Buhari administration will fix the Eko Bridge.
Gatekeepers News reports that Fashola has promised the speedy completion of the rehabilitation of the Eko Bridge, which he admitted has been neglected for several years.
During the inspection and town hall meeting on the rehabilitation and repairs of the Bridge, Fashola noted that the Buhari administration is committed to protecting the lives and property of the entire citizen, hence the quick intervention by his administration.
He said, “Eko Bridge was constructed between 1970 and 1971, but since then, maintenance had been left undone. So many things have damaged. Even as I don’t want to sound alarmist but the fact remains that the bridge has been badly damaged, but we will fix it.
“The present administration is committed to full rehabilitation because that is the only way to secure the lives and property. So, we have started the rehabilitation, which will be done in record time. This is not the first time we are doing such rehabilitation, as similar thing was done at Apapa.”
He, therefore, appealed to the state government to eradicate trading and other activities going on under the bridge, stressing that part of the bridge at Apongbon would not have burnt if people were not trading there.
The minister said, “We are appealing to the Lagos State government to ensure that all trading activities under the bridges in the state stop. We seek the cooperation of Ministry of Transportation, Environment, Local government Law enforcement agencies to help us preserve our bridges.”
The Director of Construction for Messrs. Buildwell Plants and Equipment Industries Ltd., George Mohanda said, “We have commenced the rehabilitation exercises and the scope for completion is 24 months. We would have done earlier than that but because we are not allow to close the bridge completely so it make the work slow a little.
“We are committed to the vision of Honourable Minister and we have record of delivering projects in record time. We have categories the affected areas into 1 to 5 and work is ongoing.”
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Kamar Olowoshago said the state government is willing to support in any way that will ensure the quick completion of the project.
Olowoshago said, “The Ministry of Transportation will be available to monitor the process and provide assistance where necessary to ensure that contractors have a smooth operation. In aspect of people trading under the bridge, we will communicate with appropriate department to ensure that the issue is addressed.”
