Igbe-Ginti Laara Residents Urge Sanwo-Olu To Rebuild Dilapidated Road

Residents of Igbe-Ginti Laara communities in Ikorodu, Lagos State, have appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to ensure the permanent reconstruction of their road before leaving office in May 2027.

The residents, under the umbrella of the Igbe Joint Community Development Association (CDA), staged a protest on Friday, displaying placards and calling on the state government to address the deplorable condition of the three-kilometre road, which they described as critical to their economic activities and daily lives.

Leading the protest, the chairman of the association, Comrade Isaac Faniyi, said the road had remained in poor condition for more than a decade, leaving residents struggling with transportation, access to schools and other essential services.

According to him, the road becomes almost impassable during rainfall, trapping residents in their homes and preventing workers, traders and schoolchildren from carrying out their daily activities.

Faniyi said the situation had also damaged residents’ vehicles and forced many to rely on commercial motorcycle operators, who allegedly charge between N1,000 and N1,500 for trips that should ordinarily cost N500 or less.

He explained that several efforts to rehabilitate the road had failed, including interventions by political representatives and contributions from community members.

The CDA chairman disclosed that residents had collectively raised N15 million to carry out repairs, but the intervention proved temporary as the road deteriorated again.

He added that the lawmaker representing the area in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Aro Moshood Abiodun, had facilitated palliative repairs after assuming office in 2023. However, the road reportedly collapsed again during the rainy season in 2024.

Faniyi said the community had concluded that temporary repairs were no longer sufficient, calling for complete reconstruction and drainage systems on both sides of the road to prevent flooding and ensure durability.

He also alleged that heavy-duty vehicles belonging to the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), which operates a dumpsite in the area, had contributed to the road’s deterioration.

“We appeal to Governor Sanwo-Olu not to make this horrible road his parting gift to us. We would like to remember him as the governor who bailed us out of this great difficulty,” he said.

Also speaking, the chairman of the Igbe Joint CDA Finance Committee, Mrs Olubokola Animashaun, described the situation as unbearable, noting that many residents had abandoned their vehicles because of the road’s condition.

Animashaun appealed to Sanwo-Olu and the incoming governor, Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat, to prioritise the road’s reconstruction, questioning why residents who pay taxes and fulfil their civic responsibilities should continue to endure such hardship.

Similarly, a community indigene, Alhaji Ejire Kazeem, said the road had been in a deplorable state for more than 20 years, worsening during every rainy season and disrupting economic and social activities.

Another resident, Ayodele Olayinka, popularly known as Iyaniwura, said the poor condition of the road had negatively affected businesses and increased transportation costs for residents and traders along the corridor.

Speaking on behalf of market women, Mrs Nnioma Balogun lamented that the road had discouraged customers from visiting the area and made the transportation of goods significantly more expensive.

She said transporters now charged as much as N5,000 to convey goods that would ordinarily cost about N800, adding that traders continued to pay local government shop permits despite the difficulties they faced.

The residents urged the Lagos State Government to urgently intervene and provide a lasting solution, stressing that the reconstruction of the Igbe-Ginti Laara road would improve access to schools, support local businesses and ease transportation challenges across the communities.