Some residents of Gberigbe in the Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State, on Wednesday, narrated how their businesses were held to a standstill following the continuous flooding of the community road after heavy rains.
This is as residents in the area are relocating in large numbers as a result of the dilapidated road.
They are seeking the intervention of the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in alleviating them of the sufferings they experienced daily plying the road.
The residents, who spoke with our correspondents in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, stressed that the road had caused them hardship.
A video of the road obtained from one of the residents after the rainfall showed some sections of the road, which were muddy, and occupied by water while a vehicle was seen stuck in the middle of the muddy water.
It was also observed that some students were seen walking through the muddy water while appealing to the government to help them fix the road that connects the community to other major parts of the city.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro, a resident who identified as Mrs Ismail narrated that her business has begun to experience low patronage due to the mass relocation of individuals from the area occasioned by the bad state of the road.
Ismail added, “People are leaving this area because of the bad road and businesses are affected seriously. I am a trader and I’m suffering from the effect of the bad road as sales are no longer as before.”
A resident, Olawole Paul, lamented that the road, which connects about 60 communities, has subjected the residents of the area to hardship mostly during the rainy season as it makes it difficult for them to access their homes and prevent children from going to school.
He noted that businesses and companies in the area are beginning to suffer from the effect of the bad road, while some residents are moving to places with better road networks.
Paul added, “I am a resident of Agura Gberigbe. This area is highly populated with over 60 CDAs in the community. It’s so sad that as populated as the community is, there’s no good road; virtually all the roads are bad. The most disturbing one is the major road that leads to Ijede. My business has suffered low patronage because of the difficulty of transportation.
“House owners are also bearing the brunt because people are being forced to relocate. Once it rains it’s always difficult for the commuters, including schoolchildren. We’d like the government of Lagos State to come to our aid. Companies and businesses are facing a lot of charges due to the bad road.”
Another resident, Olufemi Abayomi, disclosed that the road has been in deplorable condition for over three years and has caused a lot of damage to motorists plying the road.
He added that the cost of transportation to major parts of the city has also skyrocketed due to the bad road while stressing that all the efforts of the community to get the government to intervene on the road proved abortive.
Abayomi said, “For over three years, we have been faced with the issue of bad rad in Gberigbe. We are calling on the government of Lagos State, who may not be in the know of the plight of residents plying this road, to come to our aid. We have appealed to the government on several occasions to help us fix this road, but all our appeals have yielded no result.
“Transporters have inflated the price of transport due to the bad road as we now have to pay N2,000 to Ikorodu garage. The road has caused a lot of damage to vehicles and has made commuting in and out of the community difficult.”
The duo of Abayomi and Paul appealed to the government for intervention on the state of the road.
When contacted for a reaction, the Director of Media and Publicity, Lagos State Ministry of Works, Shina Odunuga, noted that efforts were ongoing to get the road fixed.
“We are working on the road, and the contractor will soon commence work there as soon as the drainages are constructed,” Odunuga said.
Similarly, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Public Works Corporation, Samuel Ayetutu, noted that the government is aware of the state of the road, and efforts are ongoing to provide temporary palliative on the road pending its construction.
“The government is aware of the road. Our work at Public Works is to maintain roads across the state while the Ministry is responsible for road construction.
“The LSPWC will look into the state of the road and provide palliative where necessary to ease the plight of the residents,” Ayetutu said.
