Lagos Roads Renamed after Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu as State Inaugurates Flyover in Agege

Ololade Adeyanju/

Two roads in Lagos were renamed after APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu today at the inauguration of a 1.4km dual-carriage Flyover at Pen Cinema area of Agege.

In appreciation of the Flyover built by Hitech Construction Company, Agege Local Government Chairman, Hon Ganiyu Kola Egunjobi, announced that his council has renamed the Old Ipaja Road as Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Road and Dopemu Road as Babajide Sanwo-Olu Road.

He thanked Tinubu for laying the foundation for the project and hailed Sanwo-Olu for completing it.

Tinubu expressed appreciation for the honor bestowed on him.

He celebrated the emergence of Sanwo-Olu and his deputy Obafemi Hamzat.

He described Sanwo-Olu as the Captain of the “Ship of Our State”, adding that he has steered the ship in the right direction for progress, development, and good leadership. He also commended Sanwo-Olu for being focused and for keeping the ship steady in stormy weathers.

He said that the Sanwo-Olu team had demonstrated unequalled determination to redevelop and rebuild the state which “has become one great construction site”.

Also responding to the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa who called him a talent hunter, Tinubu said, “We are fishers of talents. We don’t destroy talents; we develop talents; we fish for them; we find them and give them the responsibility. That’s what you find in Obasa, Sanwo-Olu, and Hamzat.”

Tinubu thanked all traditional rulers, white cap chiefs, party leaders, and market leaders. He described Hitech as a very reliable company and a partner in the development of Lagos State and one that the state could always depend on.

He commended the youths in Agege for cooperating with the contractors and urged them to appreciate what the government is doing and not to be like vagabonds who destroy public utilities.

He said, “Don’t emulate those who are destroying public properties. There’s no development if there’s no peace. You must embrace peace to have development.”

While thanking all stakeholders in the project, Gov. Sanwo-Olu said that more developments were on the way to Agege.

He said, “We’ll make sure that Agege becomes a little London.”

Obasa told the gathering that he moved the motion in 2017 and it was supported by all lawmakers, and when he later became the Speaker, he championed the cause and pushed for the project to become a reality.

He also revealed that the APC government has tarred 50 streets in Agege.

The Flyover ascends from Oba Ogunji Road and descends at the Oke Koto area of Agege. The bridge also opens to the old Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway through Abule Egba.

The Governor described the delivery of the project as a “landmark progress” in the State Government’s drive towards eliminating bottlenecks causing suffocating gridlocks and relieving residents of stress associated with commuting on roads.

He said his administration decided to continue the project because it was in tune with the first pillar of his administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda, which targets the provision of roads for expedited economic growth and seamless mobility.

“In order to address the challenge of huge traffic burden, the immediate past administration initiated and commenced the construction of a precast and pre-stressed reinforced concrete of 1.4km dual-carriage flyover and ramp, with road works across the Agege-Pen Cinema Intersection. As of May 2019 when this administration was inaugurated, this project was at about 20 per cent progress. With the delivery of this bridge, which is complemented with traffic signalisation and drainage channels, we have resolved the perennial traffic arising from huge human and vehicular movement from Agege-Pen Cinema Intersection towards Abule Egba, Fagba, Oke Koto and Iyana Ipaja.”

To achieve a quick turnaround in commuting on the bridge, Sanwo-Olu disclosed that his Government identified and reconstructed five strategic arterial roads with good connectivity to adjoining roads that could serve as alternative bypasses to other routes in periods of heavy traffic.

The governor said since road transportation remained crucial to economic growth and physical development, he believed the project would inject more life into socio-economic activities of people living and doing business in the area.

He said: “A key outcome from the strategic execution of this magnificent Pen Cinema Flyover project is that our administration has again demonstrated the priority it accords to the wellbeing of our people. It is a true test of our commitment to the Greater Lagos vision and a reflection of the achievability of our audacious socio-economic goals. In the course of implementing this project, we created jobs for about 380 people including engineers, supervisors, artisans and others- a clear indicator of the nexus between infrastructure development and employment generation.”

Sanwo-Olu pledged that his administration would not relent in the provision of infrastructure for coordinated and sustainable development that would help to improve the State’s performance on the Ease of Doing Business index.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Aramide Adeyoye, said the axis on which the flyover is sited was one of the busiest in vehicular activities in Lagos.

She said: “The entire project consists of a dual carriageway, with a bridge component of two lanes with 3.65 cm width in either direction. The road component consists of service lanes on either side of the bridge with median, kerbs and walkways that are complete with signalised traffic system. There are junction improvements with LED streetlight features.”

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