History will be kind to Buhari over 2nd Niger Bridge, 127.6km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, others – BMO

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

The revelation that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge would be completed this year is further proof of President Muhammadu Buhari’s desire to leave the country better than he met it in 2015.

The 127.6-km long Lagos–Ibadan Expressway is the busiest highway in Nigeria, which connects Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, Ogun State, the nation’s Gateway State through the Shagamu Interchange and Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, just like, it serves as a major route to the Northern, Southern and Eastern parts of Nigeria.

The DEFENDER reports that the road, believed to the oldest in Nigeria, can handle more than 250,000 Passenger Car Unit (PCUs) daily.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr. Niyi Akinsiju, and Secretary, Mr. Cassidy Madueke, sent to this global spread Nigeria-based online newspaper on Wednesday, the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) said that the two signature projects are major achievements that will cement the President’s place in history.

“Like all patriots, we were elated to watch the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” declaring empathically that the Second Niger Bridge, which had been used previously as a political campaign gimmick, will be ready for use this December.

“Also interesting is the revelation that only 21 kilometres of the 127km-long Lagos-Ibadan Expressway remain to be completed, with an addendum that the major highway that caters for over 40,000 vehicles a day would also be ready before the end of the year.

“What this means is that the Christmas season will be a good one for people who will have cause to move from Lagos to other parts of the country through the busiest highway in the country, as well as those going to the South-East region.

“We see this as a piece of good news and clear proof of the attention the Buhari administration has been paying to infrastructure development in the country since 2015 even in the face of scarce resources”, the statement added.

The group also expressed its conviction that many more road projects would be completed and commissioned as the administration winds down.

“Only the thoroughly biased would be reluctant to give accolades to the government for what it has been doing in the area of road construction and rehabilitation.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Buhari administration has dared to be creative in its funding arrangement which ranged from Sukuk Bonds to the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), and only recently, tax credit scheme through which the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other corporate giants took over the reconstruction of a multiple number of highways with a combined length of several thousand kilometres.

“We are convinced that by the terminal date of this administration, there would be more completed projects to showcase to Nigerians as achievements of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration”.

BMO also reassured Nigerians that President Buhari would continue to work in the best interest of all.