There was excitement on Monday for residents and businesses in Victoria Island and environs as Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu commissioned the upgraded and rehabilitated network of three roads in Victoria Island Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of the state.

Before the rehabilitation and reconstruction, these strategic roads were in deplorable state with a lot of complaints by the business community over perennial flooding and inadequate capacity. The three roads, which formed a ring right in the heart of the highly commercialised area of Victoria Island, discharge traffic through Sanusi Fafunwa Street into the famous Akin Adesola Street.

Elated chairperson of Victoria Island and Ikoyi Residential Association (VIIRA), Mrs. Wonu Folami, said the rehabilitation will boost economic activities as well as improve security of life and property by reducing travel time for security patrol and emergency. She described the state of the roads as “highly deplorable” before the reconstruction, stressing that some persons lost their means of livelihood because of the poor state of the roads.

Mrs. Folami expressed the association’s readiness to partner with the State Government on the maintenance of the roads and their ancillary facilities. She also pledged residents’ support to the government’s vision but called for resuscitation of the yearly parley to engender robust relationship between members and government.

She said: We had terrible experiences for many years on these roads, which are located in the areas where major commercial activities take place. With their rehabilitation by Sanwo-Olu, residents can now heave a sigh of relief and businesses that have suffered can now come back.”

Also, the member representing Eti-Osa 11 in the State’s House of Assembly, Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu, thanked Governor Sanwo-Olu for remembering the area in distribution of critical infrastructure in the state. Chairman, IRU-Victoria Island LCDA, Princess Abiodun Adu, recalled the deplorable state of the roads before government’s intervention. She expressed appreciation of the council to the government and asked for more infrastructure because of the strategic position of the area in the state. In his speech, Governor Sanwo-Olu said the commissioning is a promise fulfilled and clearly demonstrated his audacious reforms in critical sectors of the economy, in line with his T.H.E.M.E.S Development Agenda. According to him, a major focus of the Greater Lagos Vision is the prioritisation of urban renewal and the development of road infrastructure as a means of enhancing the collective wellbeing of Lagosians. The governor said his administration has adopted an all-inclusive and people-centered approach that covers rural and urban areas, so that no part of Lagos State is left out.

He noted that Victoria Island used to be one of the cleanest and most orderly neighbourhoods in Lagos State, however, the continuous growth of the area’s commercial activity, and by extension, its population, has led to various environmental and infrastructural challenges, among which are flooding and its attendant effects. He said: “As a responsive government committed to the fulfillment of all electoral promises, we knew we had to do everything necessary to address and reverse this issue of incessant flooding and all its consequences in the area. “In February 2020, therefore, our administration awarded the contract for the reconstruction and upgrade of Adeola Hopewell, Idowu Taylor, and Afribank/Churchgate streets. We took cognisance of the need to provide an effective drainage system and improved drainage network, as well as the need to provide good connectivity with other roads in the vicinity. “Today, those contracts have been successfully completed, and we are here to formally commission a network of reconstructed roads, which serve over 200,000 people daily. “The completion of these roads validates our promise to improve the quality of life of Lagosians, promote massive socio-economic growth, and reciprocate the support we have enjoyed from this constituency in the last few years. “Of the three roads being commissioned today, Adeola Hopewell and Afribank/ Churchgate Streets are one-way traffic roads while Idowu Taylor is a two-way street.

“ The three roads form a ring-road like pattern that effectively discharges traffic into Sanusi Fafunwa Street and connects back to Adeyemo Alakija Street. “I am confident that these newly completed roads will significantly reduce travel time, improve inter-connectivity with other roads within the vicinity and further boost business and investment opportunities in this area. The improved drainage system will also help to end the perennial flooding and erosion problems experienced in this area. The positive effects of this infrastructural upgrade will no doubt be felt well beyond Victoria Island.” Earlier, the Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Aramide Adeyoye, said the roads provide access to a lot of corporate offices and interconnects seamlessly with other roads in the area. Some of the other benefits derivable from the completion of the rehabilitation and upgrade of these roads, she said, include reduction in maintenance cost of vehicles as well as enhanced property value and socio – economic activities within the area. She appealed to residents to reciprocate government’s gesture by safeguarding and ensuring proper usage and protection of the infrastructure to ensure long-lasting service.