Residents of Ogunmaga Community Development Area (OGCDA) in Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Lagos, have embarked on a N20 million road project after 30 years of neglect by the government.
The project involves drainage excavation, filling, grading and compacting of Benson Adu (Fatoki) Road, a 1.1-kilometre road in the area.
The decision, according to them, was reached at the OGCDA meeting on March 5, 2026.
According to the minute of the meeting obtained by The Guardian, it was suggested that each household should pay N10,000 to achieve the result.
According to a communique from the meeting, signed by OGCDA Secretary, Yahya Babatunde, the residents were told to contribute to ensure that the road remains durable and usable before the rainy season begins.
Chairman of the OGCDA, Joseph Omotade, who confirmed the development, yesterday, said he initiated the contribution after several years of calls and letters to the government failed to yield attention.
He said: “I initiated it. I have paid my own as the head of the four communities and some people have paid too.
“We have to initiate it just as we did while we were trying to do Isuti Road. We paid N1,000 each and then N2,000 during the second contribution, while the state government assisted us to complete it. Someone enlightened us to do the same. We are sure the government will take over when we start as we have decided to tax each house N10,000. We need N22 million but contributing N10,000 each will give us N20 million, then we will do a launching so that residents who are well-to-do will assist us.
“We can no longer fold our arms after years of government’s neglect. We wrote to both the local council and the Lagos State Government but they made several promises and nothing happened.
“We sent delegates to Igando Local Council Chairman, Ayinde Akinsanya, and I was disappointed about what he told us.
Also, a commercial bus driver, Stanley Ebi, who spoke during a visit to the area, said: “The road is very bad. You could see what we went through when you boarded a tricycle (Keke) from Igando. Residents go through a lot, especially when there is a downpour. You cannot come in with a Keke (tricycle) when it rains.
“I am going to the vulcaniser to fix the tyre that was recently installed. The road damaged tyres, bolt joints and others. I have been on this road since the last three years and nothing has been done to do any palliative work on it.”
Another resident, Abdulraheem Alim, said: “We are passing through hell here. We find it difficult to access our houses when there is rainfall. The Igando Local Council has promised to fix the road.
“The government came here two weeks ago and promised to fix the road but I learnt that the landlords in the area held meetings to object because they claimed that the construction will affect their shops.
“I moved to this area last year and I’ve been suffering from bad roads since I got here. So, I am appealing to the government to intervene.
“Apart from the poor road network, we are also faced with poor power supply. The electricity distribution company restores power and switches off after three minutes and that has been happening in the last three months.”
Similarly, a landlord, Oyewunmi Ismael, said: “This road has been in deplorable condition for 50 years. It’s false that landlords objected to the repairs of the road. No landlord ever raised any objection over the shop or any other reason. We have been making efforts to fix the road.”
When asked about the contribution, he said: “The money is taxed to maintain the road and put it in order. The plan was made by the community members.
“This is a government road and we are begging them to repair it. The government told us that it’s not yet our turn for the road to be fixed and that’s why the communities took the step to fix the road according to our capacity and that each house was asked to contribute N10,000 each and we are on it.”
Meanwhile, when contacted, the Councillor for Ward F, Ikotun-Igando CDA, Alimosho Local Council, Tajudeen Ayodele, confirmed that members of the communities met the chairman and decided that they would do something but said that he was not aware that they have started raising the money.
“I see no problem with it since it’s a collective agreement.
When asked if it’s the right to tax residents for road construction, he said: “It’s not right; I don’t know why the community made that decision.”
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