Lagos/Ibadan Expressway gridlock: Ogun govt orders contractor to work at night

WORRIED by the pains and agony motorists are experiencing on the busiest highway in Nigeria, the Lagos /Ibadan Expressway, the Ogun State government has ordered the contractor handling the reconstruction work to work during the night from Monday, August 8.

The directive was contained in a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr  Taiwo Adeoluwa, made available to Tribune Online, as government expressed deep concern about the hardship being faced by Nigerians who regularly commute on the highway.

The state government said that with effect from Monday, August 8, 2016, the contractor shall not work on the expressway during the peak traffic hours, from 6am to 10am and between 4pm and 10pm.

The statement said the directive became necessary in view of the increasing spate of armed robberies on the expressway, as a result of the bad traffic situation.

Government said the objective of this directive was to mitigate the man-hour losses as well as socio-economic disruptions occasioned by the ongoing reconstruction work.

The statement read, “The Ogun State government welcomes the ongoing reconstruction works in the full realisation of the fact that this will ultimately bring greater relief to our people.

“We however note that the effort has come with temporary pain, in the nature of perennial traffic congestion and security challenges.

“We encourage the contractor to work full blast between 10am and 4pm and also during the night after 10pm.”