Monarch urges urgent completion of Lagos – Badagry expressway

The traditional ruler of Kweme Kingdom, Badagry, Oba Sejiro Ogungbe-James, has appealed to the Federal Government to hasten the rehabilitation of the 64.8km Lagos — Badagry expressway.

The Badagry monarch told our reporter on Friday that the timely completion of the road would help alleviate the sufferings of motorists and commuters plying the route.

It was reported that motorists have continued to complain about the slow pace of work on the reconstruction and expansion of the ever-busy Lagos–Badagry expressway, causing perennial gridlocks.

The road rehabilitation project, contracted to China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) 10 years ago, is expected to be completed in 2019.

“The expressway from Mile 2 to Badagry is terrible as there are several potholes on the road and this causes unbearable hardship for motorists.

“Badagry to Mile 2 shouldn’t take more than 45 minutes but the journey takes more than five hours or more because of the deplorable state of the road.

“The expressway which is the gateway to other West African countries is an eyesore and it is prone to accidents because of the state of the road.

“Urgent steps must be taken to address this problem because it is one of the major reasons that the ancient city is underdeveloped because the state of the road drives away investors,” he said.

The monarch also urged the government to concentrate on developing rural areas so as to attract investors.

“We have three borders around our communities in which the government generates revenue but we have not felt the impact of the government at the grassroots.

“We hope that the new port which the government wants to build in Badagry would come to reality because such huge project would open Badagry to the global world.

“The government should focus on developing the rural areas as this will not only woo investors but it will also help in decongesting over populated cities,” he said.

Ogungbe-James lauded the state government’s effort at repositioning Badagry as a tourism hub of the country.