Lagos residents who were stuck in hours-long traffic because of the Independence Bridge’s ongoing repairs have received an apology from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Between Wednesday night and early Thursday, thousands of Lagos residents were stranded in the area due to the Independence Bridge’s closure for repairs. After the closure, images and videos of local commuters who were stuck went viral on social media, sparking outrage.
But on Thursday morning, Governor Sanwo-Olu visited the area to inspect the level of work. He apologised to Lagosians over the traffic situation, saying more should have been done in communicating with residents of the state over the development.
“First, I think what is appropriate is really to first tender apologies to all our citizens and to all Lagosians for the very, very difficult, erroneous practices that we experienced in the last 24 hours in the city and within the island of Lagos,” the governor who was accompanied by his deputy Obafemi Hamzat and other government officials said while inspecting the project
“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.”
The Lagos government announced last month that it would close the Independence Bridge in the state’s Victoria Island neighborhood for two months in order to make necessary repairs.
During that time, the government requested that drivers take alternate routes. Thousands of commuters and other road users were stuck in a terrible traffic jam on Wednesday night, when the repair work started, which sparked a public outcry.
Social media users swiftly shared videos of drivers and other road users stuck in the traffic jams. While hundreds of others traveled for hours, even into the early hours of Thursday, many of them abandoned their cars and hiked several kilometers to get to their destination.
Following the public uproar, the federal government mandated that the bridge be reopened immediately in order to facilitate traffic.
“The Ministry hereby express regret for the inconvenience caused to the motoring public by the closure and appealed for their understanding and cooperation,” the Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, O.I Kesha, said.
Despite acknowledging the challenges commuters faced, Governor Sanwo-Olu stated that the closure was necessary for the benefit of all citizens of the country’s commercial center.
He claimed that the repairs were necessary to prevent a catastrophe.
“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.”
