₦airaland Forum

Lagos To Close Part Of Lekki Expressway And Ozumba Mbadiwe Way For Electric Power Boat Race

Oriental Hotel will be one of the main viewing and take off points for the race and the portion of Lekki Expressway in front of the hotel (inward Victoria Island) will be closed (all the way to Law School Junction). Motorists can use the alternative road (Yesufu Abiodun Oniru Road) or the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road to leave Lekki (the Coastal Road will be open to traffic).

Motorists going from Victoria Island to Lekki will not face any restrictions, it's only the carriageway outward Lekki that will be blocked.

The restrictions will be in effect on Saturday, October 4th and Sunday, October 5th, 2025.

Lagos State Ministry of Transportation @LagosMOT1

LASG ANNOUNCES TRAFFIC DIVERSIONS AHEAD OF OCTOBER ELECTRIC POWERBOAT RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

To facilitate the smooth hosting of the Electric Powerboat Racing Championship E1 Series Event, (Africa’s first electric powerboat race) set to take place on Lagos Inland Waterways of Victoria Island Lagoon from Saturday 4th to Sunday 5thOctober, 2025, the Lagos State Government wishes to inform the motoring public of the planned traffic diversions.

There will be total road Closure at 1st Lekki Junction inward Ozumba Mbadiwe, in view of the traffic implication, motorists are hereby enjoined to use alternative routes as follows;
 
1. Motorists from Ajah heading to Lekki will make a U-turn at Lekki 1st Junction by the Pedestrian Bridge to link Yesufu Abiodun to Maroko Police Station to access City of David to Ligali Ayorinde to connect Ajose Adeogun straight to Eko Hotel Roundabout to Ahmadu Bello Way to Independence Bridge and McEwen/Onikan to continue their journeys.
 
2. Alternatively, Motorists from Ajah inward CMS could go through Abraham Adesanya to link Ogonbo Road to access Okun Ajah Road to connect Coastal Road to Ahmadu Bello Way to Independence Bridge and McEwen/Onikan to continue their journeys.
 
3. Motorists from Lekki and its Environ going to Ikoyi/Mainland could go through Admiralty Way to access Lekki Link Bridge to Alexander road/Bourdillon Way to connect Gerrard Road and Osborne Road to continue their journeys.
 
4. Alternatively, Motorists from Lekki and its Environ going to CMS can connect Yesufu Abiodun to link Oniru Road to access Aboyade Cole Road to Ligali Ayorinde Street to Eko Hotel Roundabout and Ahmadu Bello Way to continue their journeys.

5. Motorists on the other side (from CMS/Independence Bridge and Ozumba Mbadiwe inward Lekki-Epe Expressway) will have a through traffic to Ajah and its environs.
 
Assuring Motorists of adequate parking made available for the event at; Fidelity Bank, Access Bank and Law School Premises, Victoria Island, the Lagos State Government urged all participants to cooperate with officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), who will be strategically deployed along all event routes to ensure smooth traffic flow.
 
The statement further added that during the period of the 2 days road diversion, the coastal road will be open to traffic.

ADVISORY; Motorists are implored to be patient as the diversion is part of the traffic management plans for the E1 Boat Race Event to take place on waterways at Victoria Island, Lagos State.
 
E-signed;
Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi,
Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation.
 
30th September, 2025

https://x.com/lagosMOT1/status/1973076191683793303?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AQeBS8r1s0?si=JVnn5zcTK4u_kTHY

The E1 Lagos GP is the African edition of the UIM E1 World Championship. The Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) is the international governing body of powerboating and it organises the UIM E1 World Championship.

Sports legends like Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast and Chelsea football legend), Lebron James (Los Angeles Lakers and American basketball legend), Virat Kohli (Indian cricket legend), Tom Brady (American football legend) and Rafael Nadal (Spanish tennis star) own teams in the competition.


Previous thread:

Lagos To Close Five Cowrie Creek For Electric Powerboat Race
https://www.nairaland.com/8529565/lagos-close-five-cowrie-creek

Photos: Governor Sanwo-Olu, Aliko Dangote, Rafael Nadal, Didier Drogba and other guests at the Monaco E1 Grand Prix. The E1 Championship will stage a race in Lagos which will be the first ever E1 race in Africa.

Drogba, Kohli, LeBron, Nadal - why big names are investing in powerboat racing

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/976/cpsprodpb/19df/live/a5f0b170-986c-11f0-8ac5-61a603230ddd.jpg
Didier Drogba won four Premier League titles and the Champions League with Chelsea but is now involved in electric powerboat racing with the E1 Series

Mark Lomas
Sports writer
29 September 2025

Didier Drogba is a member of what might be the world's greatest sporting WhatsApp group.

Along with fellow global icons Tom Brady, LeBron James, Virat Kohli and Rafael Nadal - as well as actor Will Smith - the former Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker owns a team in E1 Series, the world's first all-electric international powerboat racing competition.

Having taken to the waves last year, E1 is nearing the chequered flag on its second season and is about to pay its first visit to Africa, with Lagos' lagoon set to host the nine teams over the weekend of 4-5 October.

"When we decided to jump on the journey with E1, the main goal was always 'let's bring the race to Africa'," Drogba told BBC Sport Africa.

"We want people to discover our culture, to discover our history. That's why Lagos is for us a good choice, because it's a vibrant city."

Drogba's partner Gabrielle Lemaire, who is a co-investor in their team, also believes Nigeria's largest city fits the bill.

"The people are very young and it's an opportunity for us to advocate for sustainability," said the entrepreneur and vice president of the Didier Drogba Foundation.

Billing itself on its website as "pioneering a sustainable future in marine sports", E1 claims to "regenerate coastal waters through innovative clean technologies".

Venice, Monaco, Dubrovnik, Doha and Lake Como in Italy are among the venues so far visited by E1, with Miami scheduled to round off this season.

It also aims to promotes gender equality, with every team consisting of one female and one male pilot.

"As a symbol it is really strong to show that men and women can do sports," said Lemaire.

"We would like to advocate for this, for the young people, for the young ladies to understand how important it is today.

"It's not only a sport that we're talking about here."

Hunting for African talent

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/976/cpsprodpb/fe08/live/189858e0-986d-11f0-8ac5-61a603230ddd.jpg
The E1 Series has lofty aspirations of competing with motorsport powerhouses Formula 1 and Formula E

Competitors come from a variety of motorsport backgrounds, exemplified by Team Drogba's line-up.

Teenage British powerboat champion Oban Duncan is partnered with Micah Wilkinson, who won sailing bronze for New Zealand at last year's Olympic Games.

Duncan is the youngest pilot in E1, but Drogba says he has built a strong relationship with the 19-year-old.

"Oban is full of talent but her confidence was a bit low," he revealed.

"I said 'We put our trust in you, we are behind you, and you're a superstar because you race with a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm'.

"I'm really happy with her because she applies the same principle that I used to apply during my career: give everything, do your best."

Despite Duncan's young age, Drogba and Lemaire are already looking to the future, hoping the upcoming race in Lagos might inspire African talent.

"This is the goal, to be able to have African people interested in the sport, interested in sustainability, in racing, in discovering new cultures," explained Drogba.

"I think this is the opportunity for young people who want to succeed, who want to become a part of the E1 team.

"We would love to have an African pilot. It would mean a lot to us."

Trash talk in the WhatsApp group

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/976/cpsprodpb/aae7/live/6e91ee00-986d-11f0-8ac5-61a603230ddd.jpg
Drogba met Prince Albert II of Monaco (centre) alongside fellow E1 Series investors Rafael Nadal (third left), Tom Brady (fourth right), Marc Anthony (third right) and LeBron James (right) in July

Despite a glittering career which saw Drogba win four Premier League titles and the Champions League with Chelsea, the two-time African Footballer of the Year has so far decided against a move into coaching.

But the 47-year-old says he is now channelling the leadership qualities of his former coaches and team-mates into his new position.

"I'm lucky to have had a diversity of managers, a diversity of knowledge, and I learned a lot.

"Even players who showed great leadership, like John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Petr Cech - all these guys.

"I try to be like a sponge and take the best out of them, as a leader trying to reproduce it, but in my own way."

While competition in E1 is fierce on the water, it is just as intense away from it, according to a smiling Drogba.

"I decided not to bring too much of my competitiveness, otherwise I will destroy them like I destroyed all the strikers I was in competition with," he laughed when discussing his rivalry with the other owners.

"These guys are really nasty on this WhatsApp group.

"I thought Rafa [Nadal] was a nice guy, always gentle, polite. But I've read what he said a few times and I'm not happy about it so I will have to change gears."

With DJ Steve Aoki and Puerto Rican singer Marc Anthony, huge names in North America and beyond, also team owners, the rivalry between the stars is clearly one of E1's biggest draws.

It has led organisers to target a valuation of £500m ($675m) for the competition in the next five years.

"It can only grow with the energy that all the owners are putting in," said Drogba.

"When we first started, I think it was me, Rafa, Marc and Steve.

"Now the list is becoming bigger with Tom Brady, Will Smith, LeBron James. Hopefully we'll have a female owner too because this is really important."

Also on Drogba's list is a race in Ivory Coast, with Abidjan a likely venue because of its lagoon which mirrors Lagos' waterways.

"There's some technical specifications that you must require to organise the race, but I think we have everything here [Abidjan] to host," he added.

"We proved it with the Africa Cup of Nations. This is something that must happen."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/cj6xn553j5no

Boat race.

Eko oni baje oooo.
Lagos is working.
Ride on SANWO EKO

Lagos State..... The pride of Africa.

Eko o ni baje o

The Lagos State government is really doing a great job; always coming up with new ideas and innovations. I love the way Governor Sanwo-Olu personally gets involved and runs these ads.

That's the way it should be because it's the most visited state in Nigeria; people copy the good and the bad happening in Lagos.

naptu2:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/cj6xn553j5no

Boat race.

this can only happen in Lagos……so proud of my city, eko oni baje oo

you will still need the boat in lekking when the flooding intensifies. This governor is not very serious, He didn't close part of lekki to work on the flood issue o , na boat race

koladata:
you will still need the boat in lekking when the flooding intensifies. This governor is not very serious, He didn't close part of lekki to work on the flood issue o , na boat race

Negativity no dey tire you.

Face your state problem , leave ours

Na only Lagos and Abuja fit make this kain moves other states can’t relate

It will shock you that i'm a Lagosian, born and raised here, but lets call a spade a spade, I just spent over 200k on my car because of flood. There are many problems on ground why are we racing boats, until this flood start sweeping people away abi.

IPDGP:
Negativity no dey tire you.

Face your state problem , leave ours

blingxx:
Na only Lagos and Abuja fit make this kain moves other states can’t relate

I think that can be done in PH too and uyo and calabar I guess

blingxx:
Na only Lagos and Abuja fit make this kain moves other states can’t relate

i think that can be done in PH too and uyo and calabar I guess

Oluwaseun Osiyemi is the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation.

Oluwaseun Osiyemi @seunosiyemi_

Preparation ahead of the E1 Lagos GP slated to hold from 3-5th of October.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQsamDczXTk?si=OQeBGFexdQZbPzFF

Preparation ahead of the E1 Lagos GP slated to hold from 3-5th of October.#LagosWaterways #AGreaterLagosRising pic.twitter.com/1cV3kfLGM5

— Oluwaseun Osiyemi (@seunosiyemi_) September 29, 2025

Eko for show always.
Please take a moment to write a quality post with at least 40 characters.

Okay

Lagos tourism is rising, happy Independence Day nigeria

My only concern is that Cowrie Creek they want to use stinks because of years of dumping human waste by LASG into it just like Iddo. If you sit outside Farmer Kitchen on Admiralty Way or any of the lounges facing the creek including Radisson and Oriental Hotel, the stench can be unbearable.

Gov Sanwo-Olu should step up the game and build a modern sewage treatment plant and end this shameful and archaic practice of discharging human waste into the Lagoon.

It will also help to try and clean up the mass of floating plastic bottles that is fast clogging up all canals which eventually end up in the same Lagoon and Cowrie Creek. It is rather unsightly and will foul up those motorboat engines.

There are specially built skimmers to skim those floating debris, which is also a problem in other densely populated cities around the world who don't take environmental management seriously.

This was was the job that was given to that Special Adviser on Drains, Mr Igbokwe, instead of focusing on his job he spent all his energy throwing jabs at perceived enemies of APC in Lagos, and dragging his kith and in the mud.

blingxx:
Na only Lagos and Abuja fit make this kain moves other states can’t relate

does Abuja have a coast line or body of water for an event like this? Just curious to know

SonOfDSoil01:
does Abuja have a coast line or body of water for an event like this? Just curious to know

They can pull it off if they have one …..11 more characters to go

koladata:
It will shock you that i'm a Lagosian, born and raised here, but lets call a spade a spade, I just spent over 200k on my car because of flood. There are many problems on ground why are we racing boats, until this flood start sweeping people away abi.

If u are a lagos born, u have every right to say anything.

I cant just stand someone from another region or who migrated telling us what is right or wrong.

blingxx:
They can pull it off if they have one …..11 more characters to go

how? They will build artificial oceans or what? Pls make it make sense