Lagos State Governor. Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has apologized to Lagosians for the stress and trouble of motorists who were subjected to prolonged traffic congestion following the closure of the Independence Bridge on Victoria Island, Lagos.
The Governor tendered an apology during an on-the-spot assessment of the bridge on Thursday morning, while also conceding that inadequate and inconsistent communication on the part of concerned government officials contributed to the situation.
He noted that work on the bridge commenced earlier, but the full impact became evident due to its total road closure.
Governor Sanwo-Olu also attributed the heavy traffic to the mass return of workers after the Eid-el-Fitr holiday, with a large number of commuters resuming duty at the same time.
“This was a case of us all rushing out yesterday afternoon during a long weekend. People needed to get to work. This part of the city is the CBD, the business district.
“And so because of the inadequate communication, and I will take responsibility because it had started even before then, so you just assume people are aware”. He added.
The Governor then advised citizens whose jobs do not require physical presence on the Island to consider working from home as was done during the COVID-19 pandemic. This he said will help ease congestion on the roads.
In response to the Minister of Works’ directive for the immediate reopening of the bridge, Governor Sanwo-Olu stated that such an order might not be feasible, given the current state of the road. He explained that ongoing excavation work had rendered the route impassable.
To mitigate the impact of the closure, the Governor assured that additional traffic enforcement officers and security personnel would be deployed to manage traffic flow and ensure the safety of motorists throughout the rehabilitation period.
“I want to assure you that you will see a lot of LASMA officers on the road, you will see double the number of LASTMA, they will work till very late.”He stated.
Echezona Okafor.
