As heavy rainfall persists in parts of the country, some road users have urged the Federal Government to expand the drainage system on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and save them from flooding.
The road users told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that the intervention would help to reduce the hardship being faced on the highway.
A resident of Sango, Tolu Philips, told NAN that he dreaded going out whenever it rained because of flood on various portions of the highway.
Phillips noted: “I left my house at 5am because it was raining; I cannot go back home earlier than 10pmbecause I want to avoid the confusion caused by flood on the way.”
A trader, Moji Fabowale, commended the efforts of the Lagos State Government to clear the drains along the axis and reduce the impact of flooding.
She, however, called for a permanent solution to the problem.
Fabowale stressed: “I want government to expand the drainage because that is the only way to control flood; we are having heavy rainfall these days.
“There have been too many promises from government over the years concerning this drainage; we are begging them to fulfill them.”
A baker, Elkanah Amadu, said that motorists on the road spent hours in gridlock due to flooding and appealed for urgent measures to expand the drainage.
Amadu commented: “It is a harrowing experience driving on this road in this season.”
A commercial bus driver, Kudus Samuel, urged the media to draw the government’s attention to the situation on the highway through their write-ups.
Samuel stated: “I will not say that government is not aware of this situation, but maybe they have forgotten because of too many problems, so the media should help us.”
NAN correspondents who took a trip to Caso Bus stop on Tuesday observed that vehicles on the Abeokuta-bound carriageway had a hectic time going through flood.
However, the Lagos bound carriageway was minimally flooded, causing slow movement of vehicles.
The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency engineer in charge of the highway, Kehinde Afolabi, declined comment on the issue.
However, an official of the agency who did not want to be named told NAN that FERMA had not done any work in Lagos since December 2015 due lack of funds.
NAN recalls that FERMA management had in 2014 approved a proposal for the expansion of the drainage on the highway.
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