• Wants local engineers involved in projects
The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has lamented the poor state of Apapa-Tin Can Road, saying it is affecting the commercial activities of its members.
In an interview with The Guardian, the Vice Chairman of Apapa Branch of the NSE, Sunny Ejeje, disclosed that several attempts by the group to carry out palliative works on the road were stopped.
He alleged that the deterioration was due to government’s refusal to repair it or allow willing stakeholders to do so, adding that urgent attention was needed to save companies in the axis from folding up.
According to him, reports showed that more than 400 trucks had left Apapa and Tincan Ports in the past one year due to the bad state of the roads.
The Chairman of Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Musa Mohammed, confirmed that the majority of RTEAN members had abandoned their truck business because they could no longer cope with the poor state of the roads.
Musa added that RTEAN had written several letters to the National Assembly, Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on the situation without any response.
But the Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Mr. Godwin Eke, denied the allegation that government had turned down companies’ attempt to fix the road.
Eke, who responded in a telephone interview, said government was willing to enter into partnership with the private sector to rehabilitate the road.
According to him: “If government did not turn down Dangote’s request, it could not have turned down similar requests from any company.”He, however, urged the people to be patient because the rehabilitation of the road was captured in the 2017 budget.
Meanwhile, the President of NSE, Mr Otis Anyaeji, has blamed the slow pace of development in the country on non-involvement of engineers in politics and policy formulation.
Anyaeji made the disclosure at the 2017 yearly lecture/awards and induction ceremony of the Lagos Branch of NSE, held at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
A member of the society’s National Executive Committee, Mr. Felix Adeniran, represented him.Also, the Lagos branch Chairman, Johnson Akinwande and the General Manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Oladotun Lasoju urged government at all levels to use local engineers in the planning and execution of all developmental projects in the country.
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