Protest Greets Commissioning Of Kalejaye/Sunday Sholola Road in Lagos Over Poor Construction

The road, which was allocated to a local contractor, Jumbo Engineering Limited, is 736 meters long and was already in a terrible state before the commissioning on Thursday.

It was a protest galore on Thursday at the commissioning of Kalejaye/Sunday Sholola Road in the Mafoluku area of Lagos, as residents poured out in hundreds to voice their displeasure at the poor construction of the road by the State government.

The road, which was allocated to a local contractor, Jumbo Engineering Limited, is 736 meters long and was already in a terrible state before the commissioning on Thursday. The road falls under Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Titles, Musiliu Folami, had told our correspondent on Tuesday that the road would be commissioned on Saturday, but the heat generated by a SaharaReporters story on the state of the road prompted the State government to shift the commissioning forward by another 48 hours.

However, the moving forward of the commissioning by the government did not catch the residents unaware as they all stormed the venue, protesting in the open the quality of the job done by the contractor.

A resident had alleged some few days ago that the contract was awarded at N1.3billion to the contractor, but Mr. Folami had vehemently denied the statement, saying that all 114 roads under construction simultaneously in the State cost N19.4 billion.

Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who was represented at the commissioning by Ganiyu Johnson, the State’s Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, disclosed that a total cost of N19.4 billion was spent on the construction of the 114 roads and charged the people of the community to take ownership of the project.

“Let me therefore appeal to our elders, the youths and indeed the entire residents to guard jealously the infrastructure provided by the government so that additional projects can come to your communities,” Mr. Ambode said.

Despite the governor’s pleads, the residents criticized the government for going ahead with the commissioning despite their complaints about the poor job done by the contractor, Jumbo Engineering Limited.They maintained that the road was very strategic because it serves as both an exit and entry point to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, noting that the contractor ought to have done a better job.