Participants include the president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and the chairman of the South-East Governors Forum, Governor Hope Uzodinma.
LAGOS TASKFORCE AGAIN CLEARS OSHODI RAILWAY TRACK, APONGBON UNDER BRIDGE, OTHER AREAS
….vows to sustain the tempo State wide
The Lagos State Taskforce has matched words with actions to rid the State of indiscriminate display of goods on the Highways, Road side, kerb and railway tracks across various parts of the Metropolis through enforcement exercises carried out by the Agency today.
The simultaneous operations which were tactically supervised by the Chairman of the Agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye was as a result of the directives of the State Government to all Environmental enforcement agencies of Government saddled with the responsibility of restoring sanity on the walkways, highways and rail tracks where some individuals incessantly carry out trading activities which not only debase the environment but also cause pain and discomfort to Lagosians.
Jejeloye disclosed that several notices have been served to traders, especially those at Oshodi rail track where the Agency carried out a sensitization and a subtle on the 23rd of May 2023 to discourage them from returning to the tracks but it fell on deaf ears.
“Our warnings have been sent out to them for as long as two years ago but they don’t listen. We served notices at Fagba where some people built shanties, kiosks from Fagba all the way to Pen Cinema and Isokoko thereby shortchanging motorists and pedestrians who should enjoy free movement along that axis. It is completely unfair to all Lagosians and we will make sure that they are all cleared out with immediate effect”.
The Chairman stated that though both the buyer and seller involved in these activities should be arrested, he tries to strike a balance and avoid double jeopardy by only seizing the goods found on the rail tracks and urged the Market leaders to come down to the Headquarters of the Agency for a round table engagement to foster a permanent solution to end this menace.
In a related development, The Lagos State Taskforce carried out an all night raid up to this morning underneath Apongbon Bridge where traders were asked to vacate the area in order to forestall any environmental mishaps that could re occur and lead to could lead to loss of lives and property the and jeopardize the safety and security of Lagosians.
Jejeloye disclosed that the action was necessary following the reopening of Eko Bridge after it had been shut for 15 months after a fire outbreak had occurred due to the activities of traders haphazardly clustered under the Bridge. He stated that it was necessary for the Agency to take these steps at this location and other strategic locations where the activities of Street traders posed a major threat to the Environment and general well being of Lagosians.
He appealed to all traders to relocate their activities to the complex provided by the State Government and desist from carrying out activities that are counter productive to the State.
“Achieving a Mega City status as enshrined in the THEMES Agenda of the State Government is a collective effort and all hands must be on deck to ensure its sustenance. We will carry out these enforcement exercise on a daily basis to ensure we achieve our aim and anyone found going against the law will be arrested and prosecuted accordingly” He concluded.
Gbadeyan Abdulraheem Director, Press & Public Affairs Lagos State Taskforce
RELIEF FOR MOTORISTS IN LAGOS AS FEDERAL GOVT RE-OPENS EKO BRIDGE
July 8, 2023
•Sanwo-Olu issues quit notice to traders, squatters to prevent future damage to flyover
•’Reopening made possible by support from Lagos Govt’ – Fed. Works Comptroller
The long wait for the re-opening of Eko Bridge in Lagos State has ended. The flyover is now open for vehicular traffic, 15 months after it was closed by the Federal Government for a major repair.
The bridge was severely damaged at Apogbon section during a fire caused by illegal trading under it. The intensity of the inferno was said to have weakened major components and supporting pillars of the bridge, prompting its closure for extensive repair on the entire stretch.
Eko Bridge is one of the three bridges linking the mainland to the Island of Lagos.
The bridge’s reopening brought huge relief for motorists and commuters, who endured months of pain transiting in and out of Lagos Island.
Scores of excited commuters, on Saturday evening, received Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Federal Comptroller of Works, Engr. Olukorede Keisha, at a drive through ceremony for the reopening of the flyover.
Sanwo-Olu said the repair at the Apogbon axis had been completed, but disclosed that maintenance work would continue on the infrastructure, which would lead to intermittent closures in the coming months.
The Governor conveyed the Federal Government’s apology to Lagos residents for the delay in getting the bridge back to use, stressing that it would be risky to reopen the bridge without proper reconstruction of the damaged section.
Sanwo-Olu said: “It is with great delight to announce that we have carried out comprehensive tests with the contractor from the Federal Ministry of Works and we believe that Apogbon section of the Eko Bridge can now be opened for motorists. But the maintenance work on the entire bridge has not completed. There are lots of bearings that still need to be reinforced along the entire stretch of the infrastructure.
“In future, there will be more intermittent closures at different sections of the bridge but the period may not be longer than one or two weeks. This is necessary for us to jerk up the bridge and complete the maintenance work. We are reopening the bridge to bring relief to road users, who have endured hardship due to the repair work.”
The Governor said the contractor handling the work would also be reconstructing ancillary roads along the corridor to prevent further misuse of the bridge.
Sanwo-Olu said continuous trading activities under the bridge would no longer be permitted to prevent further damage to the flyover.
The Governor issued a seven-day ultimatum to all traders and illegal squatters to remove their belongings and vacate the space under the Eko Bridge. He directed the Lagos State Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit (Taskforce) to clear any illegal structure found under the bridge after the ultimatum.
He said: “We are using this medium to warn those trading under the bridge that we will not tolerate any form of illegal activities under this bridge and other bridges in the State. The bridges are important assets to the State and we cannot fold our arms and allow a few people to destroy them.
“We have seen the effect which the destruction on Eko Bridge caused the entire city. We cannot afford to have these bridges shut down again because of illegal activities. We will clear all squatters from Ijora Olopa to Costain and there will be zero tolerance for market activity under the bridge.”
Keisha thanked Lagos State Government for collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Works to hasten up the repair work on the bridge, noting that the reopening of the bridge was made possible because of the intervention of the State Government.
She said comprehensive maintenance work had already started on Eko Bridge before the fire incident happened, which made the contractor to abandon the work to focus on the damaged sections. Having repaired the parts damaged by the fire, Keisha said the contractor would continue the maintenance work to reinforce the bridge for public safety.
She said: “The reopening of the bridge would not have been possible if the Lagos State Government had not come to our rescue. If not for the intervention of the State Government, what is happening here would not be achieve. We appreciate this collaboration and timely support. Having considered the hardship on motorists, Governor Sanwo-Olu brought the machinery of the State to the assistance of the Federal Government and get the work done.”
Politics › Re: South-East Leaders Are Meeting In Abuja To Chart A Way Forward For The Region by naptu2(op): 7:38pm On Jul 10, 2023*. Modified: 8:10pm On Jul 10, 2023
