Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun on Wednesday fumed over multiple crashes on Lagos – Ibadan expressway and vowed to hold the contractor handling the reconstruction project accountable for the loss of lives.
At least 15 people have died in multiple crashes along the highway between Sunday night and Wednesday.
However, Abiodun made an on-the-spot assessment to the Ogere toll gate end of the reconstruction work on Wednesday.
The governor blamed the contractor handling the Lagos-Ibadan expressway reconstruction work for failure to provide safety signs on the road “which had in recent times led to the unfortunate but preventable loss of lives and carnage of the country’s busiest route.”
While commiserating with families of those who lost their loved ones, Gov. Abiodun said, that he would take the issue up with the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, so as to ensure expeditious completion of the rehabilitation works that has been on for decades.
“I am going to take this up with the Minister of Works. This contractor has to be held accountable; we cannot continue to pussyfoot around a project that is so important, particularly around this corridor.
“I want to call on the contractor handling this project to expedite action. We can take any more excuses of this project. We are going to be holding them responsible for any accident because safety measures are not in place, no safety signs and this is just an unnecessary loss of lives for us.
“We’ve had too many of these type of sad days on our major highways in Ogun State but of particular note is the recurrence of this type of incidents around this corridor of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway,” he said.
Abiodun while noting that the drivers of the trucks involved in the accident could not be totally blamed for the accident as a result of the inability of the contractor to provide all the necessary safety signs, he added that the construction had “been too protracted.”
The governor was accompanied by his deputy, Engr Noimot Salako – Oyedele, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Lanre Bankole, Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Ahmed Umar, and members of his cabinets.
