Press Releases

Fashola Calls For Partnership On New Strategies To Combat Traffic Bottlenecks

Jul 12, 2008 - Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Saturday called on all residents of Lagos to partner with the State Government in its efforts to fashion out new strategies to combat traffic bottlenecks across the state.

The Governor who spoke during an inspection visit to the Anthony Village sports centre added that work is ongoing by experts on how best to tackle the transportation connectivity problem in the state.

He said part of the preliminary findings is that the people have now resorted to locking themselves up through the chaining of all connecting gates and thus denying motorists any form of interconnectivity.

Governor Fashola added that in an area like Anthony Village and Maryland, all the gates are shut as early as seven pm, leaving only one entrance available to all the residents and people returning from a hard day’s job.

Governor Fashola who told the gathering which included the Publisher of Vanguard newspapers, Mr Sam Amuka Pemu that the state Government would soon come forward with a blueprint which will ensure that when some of the roads in Ilupeju, Surulere and Gbagada are opened up, traffic in Lagos will flow.

He said it is very regrettable that youths of nowadays no longer have recreational centres to ventilate their youthful energies because all such spaces have been fully built up for different purposes.

He said this realization informs the irrevocable commitment of the State Government to ensure that Lagos becomes an orderly society where people obey town planning laws and do away with the habit of developing illegal structures.

The Governor commended the spirit of togetherness bonding being displayed by members of the community from the lowly to the high and mighty and recommended same to other communities in the state.

He explained that this type of interaction would allow members of the community know themselves, thus making it becomes very difficult for crime to thrive in such a community.

He added that collaboration constitute one of the main ways by which crimes can be detected all over the world.

In his words: “It is the community that detects crime. The Police anywhere in the world does not have the magical wand against the detection and prevention of crime”.

While agreeing that the sports facility in its present state cannot be the best for the Anthony Village community in particular and for Lagos in general, he said the government has had to contend with very competing demands for lean resources.

Responding to an appeal made by Mr Sam Amuka about the traffic and other challenges posed by the attempt to locate an extension of the Lagos State University Campus in the neighbourhood, Governor Fashola advised the community to do a formal report to the government for urgent attention.

He noted that Lagos should not be allowed to develop in a disorderly manner, otherwise it would implode.

The Governor praised the effort of Mr Amuka in putting together the gathering adding that it could only take a ”Sam Amuka to do that”

Earlier, the Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr Sam Amuka Pemu who is a resident of the Anthony Village community had taken the Governor round the facilities in the community Sports centre including the football pitch.

He sought the assistance of Governor Fashola in upgrading the standard of the sports and ensuring the putting in place of a first class recreation facility which the present and future generations would be proud of.