By Remi Adelowo
The results of the zeal, commitment and passion of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to leave Lagos State far better than he met it are becoming palpable every passing day. Unwaveringly intentional and focused to beating his own record, the governor has, in the last five years, been setting new template and new direction to making the State of Excellence excel in all areas of developmental indexes.
Since his assumption of office, the governor has devoted enormous resources to the upgrade of infrastructure in the state, particularly inner and outer roads to make commuting around the state more comfortable for residents. In all the 20 Local Governments (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas, many road projects are either completed or under reconstruction and rehabilitation.
In spite of the marked improvement on the state of roads in the state, Sanwo-Olu and his team appear unrelenting to set new records in initiating iconic road and bridge projects, otherwise known as legacy projects, while not turning a blind eye to rehabilitating old roads all over the state. For the governor, every part of the state — from the urban to the rural, from the upscale to low-class neighbourhoods — deserves a piece of good governance.
Just weeks after he inaugurated road and bridge projects in Ifako, Bariga and Alimoso areas, it was the turn of the upscale Iru/Victoria Island axis to have a taste of Sanwo-Olu’s midas touch. On Friday, 14 February, the governor busied himself on St. Valentine’s Day inaugurating three newly-built roads in Eti Osa LGA to enhance connectivity within the metropolis. The projects are the upgraded and dualised 2.8km-long Chief Yesufu Abiodun Oniru Road and Akiogun Road, both of which serve as crucial alternative routes that will significantly reduce gridlock around Victoria Island and Admiralty Circle Plaza.
The governor also inaugurated newly-constructed 550 metre Abudu Street in Victoria Island, opening a new route to connect the Lekki-Epe Expressway. The road projects, which has reduced journey time by 40 minutes, are completed with improved drainage to solve perennial flooding problems hitherto experienced along the corridor. Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Engr. Olufemi Daramola said the projects were conceived to provide alternative routes to decongest traffic from the Lekki-Epe Expressway, adding that the infrastructure aligned with the state government’s infrastructural regeneration efforts within Victoria Island. As an icing on the contruction cake, they will also serve as bypasses to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road being constructed in the corridor.
The new road network, Sanwo-Olu noted, was not only a pathway, but would serve as a lifeline that would bring relief to commuters, boost economic activities, and enhance the quality of life for residents.
The opening of the three roads made it the 29th newly-built infrastructure projects the governor would be commissioning over the last three months. Additional 17 roads projects at different stages of completion and would be commissioned before the end of the first quarter of this year.
The good news does not end there. The state’s third light rail project, christened the Green Line, will also commence this year. According to the governor, the project will cut across the entire Eti Osa LGA. A precursor to this, is the ongoing expansion of Lekki-Epe Expressway to create the right-of-way for the rail project.
‘We are working with the Federal Ministry of Finance Incorporated and our contractors to start the Green Line this year. The project, which will start from Victoria Island and terminate in Ibeju Lekki, will be a game changer in transportation on Eti Osa corridor’. Sanwo-Olu enthused.
The Green Line rail project is coming on the heels of the completion of the Blue and Red Lines, both of which residents of the state are already savouring, while testimonies abound of how they have not reduced commuting time, but impacted positively on the health of people along those corridors.
As the governor enthusiastically promised while campaigning for a second term, there is no denying the fact that ‘Lagos State is Rising’ and there is no stopping it!