251 Road Crashes, 156 Deaths Recorded From January To October In Ondo - FRSC

A total of 156 deaths were recorded from the month of January and October 2019 from 251 recorded road crashes in Ondo State.

Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in the state, Rotimi Adeleye, made the disclosure in Akure, the state capital, on Wednesday.

He said, "A total of 104 crashes and 65 deaths were recorded in the first quarter, 68 crashes and 47 deaths in the second quarter while 79 accidents and 44 deaths were recorded in the third quarter."

According to Adeleye, the FRSC in the state was training more personnel to ensure sanity was restored on the roads.

READ: These Are The Duties and Functions of LASTMA, VIO and FRSC Officers

He added, “The fourth quarter happens to be the Yuletide period, which obviously on yearly basis, is the period that we believe that we do more of enlightenment.

"We do more of visibility, we do more of enforcement and more of putting all machineries in place in preparation for Christmas and New Year festivities."

He pleaded with vehicle owners to avoid reckless driving, noting that anyone found breaking traffic rules would be made to face the law

Impound Any Vehicle Parked On The Road - Ogun Gov, Dapo Abiodun Orders

In furthering efforts to forestall future accidents around Toll Gate in Otta, the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun has directed that measures be put in place.

According to the Governor, the Ogun State Public Works Agency (OGPWA) is to commence palliative work along the axis in order to ease the flow of traffic on the road.

After he observed that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) frequently had cars parked along the road, especially during their routine stop-and-search operation, the Governor said, "Those vehicles that the FRSC usually have parked by the roadside contribute to gridlock and pose danger to unsuspecting motorists."

Governor Abiodun has therefore issued a "no parking" directive to the Corps.

Already, officers of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) are in the area, controlling traffic and to possibly move roadside traders from the right of way.

The Governor disclosed that the State Government was working on providing necessary equipment for the Fire Services.

"We are going to ensure that our firefighters are adequately equipped in order to promptly respond to emergencies within their jurisdiction," he said.

READ: 2 Killed As Petrol Tanker Falls, Explodes At Sango Toll-Gate, Ogun State - Exclusive Photos

Prince Dapo Abiodun added that the Government was engaging federal MDAs concerned with road maintenance, primarily to avoid duplication of exercise.

According to him, "We are engaging the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Road Maintenance Agency in such a manner that whenever we have a particular reason to work on roads within their coverage, we would alert them while TRACE officers manage traffic during the repair work."

The Governor advised the general public to avoid habits that contribute to the damage of roads such as the dumping of refuse in drainages. He also urged motorists to adhere to traffic rules and avoid pouring harmful chemicals and products on the asphalt surface of roads.

11 Adults, Two Children Killed In Multiple Vehicle Crash On Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Thirteen persons have been killed in a crash along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway with 10 others injured.

The Ogun State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps confirmed the deaths and the crash which occurred around Sapade near Ogere area of the state.

According to the Public Education Officer of the command, Florence Okpe, the crash occurred around 7 pm in the area where a diversion was created by a construction company currently working on the stretch of the road in the area.

“The fatal crash involved a total of 37 people comprising 20 male adults, 15 female adults, and two female children,” she said

“The people injured in the crash were 10, comprising four male adults and six female adults.

Four male adults, seven female adults and two female children made up the thirteen who lost their lives.

The incident involved three vehicles – truck heading towards the Lagos axis of the expressway and two buses.

Okpe said the truck (a Man diesel truck with registration number KAB 97 XA)
which was speeding suffered a tyre burst and in the process collided head-on with two other speeding commuter buses heading towards the Ibadan axis of the expressway.

The buses involved were yellow MAZDA bus with registration number KTU93XW and a white Toyota bus with registration number KEY 847 XA.

The Sector Commander, FRSC Ogun State Command, Clement Oladele, has expressed deep shock over the incident and commiserated with relations of the crash victims, the statement said.

Relations of the crash victims are to contact the FRSC Command in Ogere or the Victory Hospital, Ogere, where the crashed victims were taken to for medical treatment.

The corpses of the victims killed at the crash have been deposited at the Ipara Mortuary, Ogun State.

Okpe quoted the FRSC Sector Commander as saying that the incident would have been avoided if motorists who are driving along diversion areas and construction zones, observe the maximum speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour and avoid overtaking till clearly out of diversion areas to avoid a head-on collision.

Work Will Resume On The Lagos-Abeokuta Roads After The Rain - FG (PHOTOS)

 Julius Berger Plc will resume work on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway at the end of the rainy season.

The Federal Controller of Works, Ogun State, Olukayode Popoola, disclosed this in an interview with one of our correspondents on Saturday.

The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and his Lagos State counterpart had a few months ago submitted a proposal for a takeover of the road, whose contract was awarded in 2001.

Abiodun during his investiture as a patron of the Abeokuta Club on September 7, had said that Lagos and Ogun states had agreed to commercialise the road by allowing private investors to fund and toll the roads to ease traffic from Lagos to Abeokuta.

The two governors had also submitted a proposal to that effect to President Muhammadu Buhari. Almost two months after the proposal was submitted, the Federal Government had yet to make its stand known.

But Popoola, in the interview with The PUNCH, said, “For that road, the contractor will soon move to site. The ministry is making effort to ensure that they (the contractor) move back to site. Now that the rainy season is gradually coming to an end, Julius Berger will soon move back to site.”

Another official at the Abuja headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing confirmed that the government had received the request of both states on the Lagos-Abeokuta road.

The official, who spoke in confidence, said, “It was submitted to the minister’s office and I’m sure they are working on it but it takes time.

When probed further to explain why the approval from the Federal Government was being delayed, the source replied, “I’m sure you know that it is the minister that will direct me and not the other way round.

“So when the time comes, the matter will be adequately addressed because I’m sure they are working on it since it is with the minister.”

Residents of towns along the Abeokuta-Sango-Lagos road on Saturday lamented that the road had become a death trap.

These are the state of the roads now...

"Our Roads Are Not As Bad As People Say They Are” - Fashola

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, says Nigeria’s road surfaces are not as deplorable as the public have made them out to be.

Speaking to State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, November 6, 2019, Fashola also blamed poor funding and how long it takes to acquire materials for road works, for the poor performance of his ministry since 2015.

“The roads are not as bad as they are often portrayed. I know that this is going to be your headline, but the roads are not that bad,” Fashola said.

“When I come here to announce that a particular amount was approved for a contract, that doesn’t mean the amount has been paid, contrary to what you suggest.

“You are mindful also that minister of finance, different arms of government are escalating the fiscal challenges we face as a nation in trying to fund the budget.

"You are also mindful that the last few budgets in Nigeria for almost 20 years have been deficit budgets and these are terminologies that are realities and I think we should acquaint ourselves with if we are not just to report the news but also educate the public.

“You must also be aware that between awarding a contract and also mobilizing to the site, there is a distance. First of all, we have to have an agreement that there is the relationship between the ministry of works or any other ministry and the ministry of justice, then there is a role that banks play, they have to give a guarantee.

Read also: Winners Church To Repair Sango-Ota, Idiroko, Oju-Ore Roads, Approves ₦650million

“Building materials – rocks, laterite, quarry, iron rods have to be ordered, construction companies don’t keep them.

“The process of producing blasting rocks requires approval from the office of ministers of justice and even the office of the NSA to get approval to get dynamite. All of these are the things that go on. So the point that I am making to you is that there is a distance between approval, implementation, actual construction and the result.”

The rains are blamed as well

The minister also said continuous rainfall has hampered road repair works country-wide.

“So what we experienced this year is unusual, it’s not a good time to be in the transport system. We also want this season to quickly end so that we can go back to work during the dry weather.”

The minister assured Nigerians that massive road repair works will commence when the harmattan season kicks off.

Nigeria’s road surfaces have been described as pot-hole and crater ridden across all geopolitical regions for years.

Most travellers have been forced to make the journey across the country by air instead, with robbers and kidnappers further turning road travel into an extreme sport. 

Fashola was appointed Minister of Power, Works and Housing by President Buhari in 2015. After the president won re-election in 2019, Fashola was stripped of the power portfolio and was left with the works and housing beats.

Fashola, 56, served as governor of Nigeria’s most populous city of Lagos from 2007 to 2015. He came in for enormous flak as power minister; with darkness remaining the lot of many Nigerians with the former governor at the helm.

Update From Various Construction Sites In Lagos As Mandated By Sanwo-Olu - Photos

Check Out The New Date For The Lagos-Ibadan Road Diversions To Open - Photos

The Federal Government is set to reopen all diversions around construction zones on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to motorists ahead of the Christmas festivity.

The Director of the Federal Highways, South-West, Funso Adebiyi disclosed this during his interaction with truck drivers in Ogere, Ogun State on Monday.

This directive will take effect from December 15.

Adebiyi said the decision was to ensure free flow of traffic during the Christmas period, adding that work would resume after the season.

He also ordered truck drivers to either relocate or move backwards by at least 50 metres from the construction zone, saying the activities of the truck drivers have made the reconstruction of some sections of the road almost impossible.

According to Adebiyi, about 65 kilometres of the road had been completed – 20 kilometres on Section 1 from the Old Toll Gate to Sagamu interchange being handled by Julius Berger and 45 kilometres on Section 2, from the interchange to Ibadan being handled by the RCC.

Meanwhile, check out some pictures from our archives of the ongoing construction being handled by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC at Kara Bridge at the Lagos Ibadan Expressway

Read: See The State of The Road Of Ibadan Circular Road That Oyo State Government Paid ₦67billion For - Photos

See The State of The Road Of Ibadan Circular Road That Oyo State Government Paid ₦67billion For - Photos

The Governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde visited the Ibadan Circular Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Thursday and he was disappointed at the state of work and what he met on ground. This is according to him after the state government had paid a whopping sum of ₦67billion for the take off of the roads.

He issued a stop-work order in respect of the construction of the 32 kilometres road awarded by the past administration since May 2017 at the cost of #67 billion.

The Governor emphasised the significance of the Circular Road, declaring that the road was of utmost importance to the economy of Oyo state.

He also stated that his administration remained determined to build infrastructures that will help to expand the economy of the State.

He said: "Basically, what we saw was not encouraging. The agreement was signed in 2017, almost three years now. The work done so far was at 5 per cent or 5.5 per cent. Also, this was a concession of about N65 billion for a 32-kilometre road. We just felt we need to pull back a little bit, look at things holistically and then take a decision in order to move forward.

"The circular road is extremely important to the economy of Oyo State and if a contractor can only achieve 5 per cent in three years, you can imagine how many years it will take to complete the road."

It would be recalled that the 32-kilometre road was awarded by the immediate past administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi at the cost of N67 billion.

While speaking at the site, Governor Makinde expressed disappointment and dissatisfaction at the level of work done by the contractor, ENL Consortium Limited, saying he was unhappy and unimpressed with what he observed on the site.

The Governor promised to meet with the contractors in order to review the work plan for major development.

These are photos of the road after 3 years the contractor has started working on it...

This is what the initial plan looks like when the contract was awarded in 2017

Lagos Government Set To Auction Vehicles Impounded For Violation Of Traffic Law

The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit (Taskforce) has concluded arrangements to auction vehicles of 31 traffic offenders already convicted by the Court for driving against traffic as well as 22 automobiles that were abandoned for over six months after the arrest of their riders.

Chairman of the Agency, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi disclosed that the owners of the impounded vehicles who abandoned their cars contravened the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law 2018, stating that public notice had been issued for owners of both the court forfeited and abandoned cars to identify their vehicles at the Agency's car parks in Ikorodu and Bolade-Oshodi.

"At the expiration of the one-month verification exercise the Agency shall apply to court for an order of 'Public Auction' where members of the public would have opportunity to buy any of these vehicles”, the Chairman said.

Egbeyemi clarified that the owners of the vehicles forfeited to the government pleaded guilty before Magistrate Omobola Salawu of the Lagos State Mobile Court at Oshodi after their arrest for driving against traffic.

He affirmed that in addition to the forfeiture of the vehicles, each traffic offender was sentenced to 100 days 'Community Service' at any public institution of their choice.

The Chairman, however, maintained that with the State government’s zero-tolerance for violation of the law, the Agency will continue to prosecute traffic offenders until sanity is restored on our roads and law-abiding citizens are allowed to commute without being impeded by unlawful individuals.

Meanwhile, CSP Egbeyemi also confirmed that over 7350 impounded motorcycles are presently in custody of the Agency for plying restricted routes, including highways and bridges across the State.

He stated that the Agency is awaiting further directives from the government in respect of the impounded motorcycles, adding that the motorcyclists were apprehended around Agege, Pen-Cinema, Apapa, Ikorodu, Mile 2, Obalende, Oyingbo, 2nd Rainbow, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Ojota, Maryland, Yaba, Oshodi, Ikorodu Road, Apongbon, Ikeja and Iyana-Ipaja.

Winners Church To Repair Sango-Ota, Idiroko, Oju-Ore Roads, Approves ₦650million

For those who go and ply through Sango-Ota, Oju-Ore, Idiroko road, this may be the best news you have been waiting for in years.

The Bishop of Winners Chapel, Bishop Oyedepo has approved the sum of 650million naira for the rehabilitation of these roads.

According to reports, the recent road repairs currently being undertaken will cost the Living Faith Church a whooping sum of N650 million naira (about $2 million).

The roads which cover the old toll gate bordering Lagos and Ogun States as well as stretches of the Idi-Iroko expressway from Oju Ore to Iyana Iyesi as well as Sango itself began to undergo repairs as executed by the Church recently. Travelling along the road to the border as well as Agbara and other towns had become a harrowing experience for both worshippers at the Church and non-worshippers alike every day of the week. This led the Church to intervene in order to give the people a respite.

This is not the first of such interventions, however, it is the biggest single intervention till date and has helped in no small measure per time to relieve road users. Speaking yesterday, Bishop Oyedepo announced that the sum of N650 million was approved and released for the repairs, adding that Canaanland, where the Church is situated, is the birthplace of giants where many have gotten their spiritual and physical needs met for the past 20 years.

Winners Headquarters is situated at Sango-Ota and the road has been badly despite calling on the federal and state government to intervene, nothing has been done so far which forced the church to make it its social responsibility to the community.