By Sunny Anderson Osiebe
...Restates Senate’s plan to Intervene on speedy completion of reconstruction work
President
of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has commiserated with the
families of the victims of the road accident which
claimed about 26 lives at the weekend on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Saraki,
in a message signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr.
Yusuph Olaniyonu, stated that the tragic loss of
lives on the highway has become almost a daily occurrence, hence, there
is need for immediate action to get the private sector involved in the
funding and management of the road.
He prayed for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives in the road mishap and urged Allah to grant their families
the fortitude to bear the loss, while also wishing those who sustained injury speedy recovery.
The
Senate President stated that the accident was another indication that
there was need for urgent intervention to quickly complete
the reconstruction work on the road while also ensuring that the scope
and quality are not compromised.
“From
all that we have seen thus far, it is clear that the government does
not have the money to adequately fund this road. We
have to understand that the Lagos-Ibadan expressway is our busiest
highway in the country, hence, it is important that we do all that we
can to enable private sector funding to bring reconstruction work on the
road to completion as soon as possible,” the
Senate President said.
“In
the last few weeks, with the Ministers of Works and Finance, we in the
Senate have been meeting with members of the private
sector to bring everyone to the table so as to get the commitment from
all parties,” he said, “It is our hope that in the next few days, we
will have good news to break to our people that we have secured all
necessary commitments to get the ball rolling.
“With
the right sort of funding, proper work can be done on that
all-important road to avoid this kind of carnage that we usually
witness. Right now, the government only has the resources to achieve
the bare minimum. If the private sector gets involved, we can improve on
the scope, quality and speed of work, thus making Lagos-Ibadan
expressway not only safer, but avoid the loss of
lives. Doing this, would make that road a funding prototype for similar
large-scale infrastructure projects across the country,” Saraki stated.
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