Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has expressed regret to the residents of Lagos who were stuck in traffic for hours because of the repair work going on at Independence Bridge in the state.
It was reported that the closure of the Independence Bridge for repair left thousands stranded in traffic between Wednesday evening and early Thursday.
Following the traffic, images and videos of stuck commuters went popular on social media, sparking criticism.
Following the development, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, ordered the reopening of the bridge to ease the gridlock chaos.
However, speaking to reporters on Thursday during a visit to the bridge to inspect the level of work, Sanwo-Olu apologised for the traffic situation, saying that the renovation work was necessary to prevent an imminent disaster.
According to the governor, more could have been done to inform the residents of the state about the development.
He said, “First, I think what is appropriate is really to first tender apologies to all our citizens and to all Lagosian for the very, very difficult, erroneous practices that we experienced in the last 24 hours in the city and within the island of Lagos.
“I think this apology is important so that we can take full responsibility as a government, both at the national and sub-national levels, for just taking our people through an unfortunate incident. It was all well intended, it was all for good causes, and it was all for us to avert a future disaster that was waiting to happen.”
Despite acknowledging the challenges commuters encountered, Sanwo-Olu stated that the shutdown was necessary for the sake of everyone living in the country’s commercial heartbeat.
The governor stated that the repair work was to avert a disaster.
“It was all for a good cause, it is all to avert future disaster waiting to happen. You know how life is — there is never a best time for you to do all you want to do, there will always be challenges even if you think it is the best time,” Sanwo-Olu said.
“This contract has been signed over three years ago; our duty is to preserve the integrity of the Independence Bridge — which is like one of the oldest bridges in the country.”
The governor asked residents of the state to plan accordingly, given the repair work.
“If you don’t have business to do in Victoria Island in the next two to three weeks, conduct your business via social media, telephone, Zoom meetings, online meetings, let’s plan,” the governor said. “If you don’t need to come and visit somebody here, you don’t have to come.”
The governor, who was accompanied by his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat and other government officials, was received by officials of Buildwell Construction, who are handling the project.
