- Residents applaud Governor’s intervention, ask for more
Praises, encouragement and critical appraisal trailed a heart-to-heart conversation Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had with residents of Eti Osa on Sunday, where they expressed their gratitude about the Governor’s unfolding action plan for the development of the corridor.
The Town Hall meeting, held at the Monarch along Lekki-Epe Expressway, also offered the Eti Osa residents an opportunity to air their concerns and share tips on how the State Government can improve infrastructure in the corridor.
Eti Osa is a fast-growing residential and commercial settlement, comprising Ikoyi-Obalende, Iru-Victoria Island, Lekki, Victoria Garden City (VGC), Ajah and communities around Sangotedo axis.
The event was attended by Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, top Government officials, and all the traditional rulers in Eti Osa, their chiefs, and village heads.
The Town Hall meeting adopted a no-holds-barred approach, which gave the Governor the chance to get first-hand feedbacks from the citizens living on the corridor.
Sanwo-Olu used the opportunity to give account of his administration’s development projects executed in Eti-Osa, which included the construction of a network of five roads in Victoria Island-Lekki axis, re-designing of six traffic points along the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
Other projects initiated by the Sanwo-Olu government on the corridor include the ongoing Regional Road construction, improvement of Abraham Adesanya Roundabout, General Hospital at Ikota, completion of Badore Jetty and introduction of Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) in Lekki.
The Governor added that his administration had also built schools, rehabilitated over 30 network of roads on the Eti Osa corridor, including desilting and channelisation of Abraham Adesanya canal and McGregor Channel.
Fourth Mainland Bridge, Sanwo-Olu said, will be another major capital infrastructure that would change the lives of the Eti Osa residents, pledging that his Government would compensate property owners whose buildings fall into the project’s right-of-way.
Despite the facility renewal efforts, residents believed the Government needed to raise the bar in infrastructure delivery to address growing population.
Sanwo-Olu spent several minutes, responding to direct questions from the residents raised concerns about inner road connectivity, inadequate health care facilities and schools, recreational facilities, drainage channelisation and environment beautification.
Responding to the complaint about indiscriminate development and the attendant hazard, the Governor said many of the gated Estates in the Eti Osa needed comprehensive regeneration, but said the residents were opposed to the move.
On Coastal Road, Sanwo-Olu said: “We believe Regional Road and Coastal Road will bring huge relief to Eti Osa, but we started from Regional Road which is not as capital intensive and complex as Coastal Road. With the resources available to the State, we can only have bit by bit construction on the Coastal Road, except the Federal Government intervenes.”
On when the Government would start the construction of Saliu Obodo Road in Eti- Osa, the Governor said there would be a stakeholder engagement before the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development would be directed to clear alignment before the project would commence.
He added that plans were being made to start the construction of Orchid Road, but said the project would be done in phases.
Sanwo-Olu said the lack of recreational facilities for the youth in Eti-Osa was due to fast pace of development, stressing that landowners were aiming at selling the reserve that would have been allotted for parks and recreation. He directed the Executive Secretary of Lands Bureau to immediately look for spaces for development of youth centres in Eti Osa.
The Governor acceded to the request by residents of Sea Side Estate in Ajah for a rebate in application fee for land title, expressly approving 10 per cent discount to enable the property owners get titles for their properties.
Thanking the Eti-Osa residents for hearing him out, Sanwo-Olu urged them to keep faith in his Government and political party.
He said: “Lagos has been blessing for all residents and the efforts by the State Government to bring development to all areas of the State has affected the economy positively. The question we should ask ourselves is, why can’t we replicate the development in other parts of the country.
“Lagos is the safest place in the country and it speaks to the effort put forward by the State Government. We have a presidential candidate whose template has brought about these physical developments being enjoyed today. He is the only person that can change the situation of the country. If we care about development, we must support Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be the next President.”
