Photos: Ogun state government denies that RCCG carried out repairs on Lagos-Ibadan expressway

Ogun state government has released a statement debunking claims that the Redeemed Christian Church of God is responsible for some repairs being carried out on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

According to the statement which was posted on the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun's Facebook wall, the governor said his administration is responsible for the ongoing repairs on the road despite the fact that it is a Federal government road and is meant to be repaired by the FG. The statement and photos of Governor Amosun inspecting repairs on the road after the cut..

 Our attention has been drawn to a report titled, Gridlock: RCCG Repairs Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, published on page 5 of the Punch newspapers of Thursday, November 5, 2015. The report, quoting an unnamed source at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, had claimed that the ongoing palliative work being done on some bad portions of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was being handled by the revered church.

Contrary to that claim however, I will like to state that the ongoing palliative work on the Lagos Ibadan expressway is being handled by the Ogun State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure. Concerned about the plight of commuters on the ever busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the Ogun State Government, on Tuesday, embarked on palliative work on some bad portions of the expressway.

Not minding the fact that it is a federal road, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, worried about the plight of commuters who spend hours in traffic gridlock on the road, directed the state Ministry of Works and infrastructure to immediately fix the bad portions of the road and also construct drainages.

In giving the directive, the governor was particularly concerned about the need to immediately bring relieve to the road users especially as the Redeemed Christian Church of God and other churches on the ever busy road are also billed to hold events that will attract millions of worshippers this weekend.

Speaking during an inspection tour of the ongoing palliative work being carried out by the Ogun State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure on the federal road at about 1 am on Wednesday, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun State Governor said, “In the real sense of it and for me there are no federal people, the people plying this road and other affected Federal roads within our axis are our people.

We are all Nigerians and we are already collaborating with the Federal government to contribute our own quota to ensure that this road is fixed.” It is surprising, therefore, for any journalist to claim that the multi-million naira job being carried out by the Ogun State government is being done by a religious organisation.

The intervention job on the ever busy expressway is an initiative of the Ogun State government to rescue millions of Nigerians who spend hours in the gridlock occasioned by some bad portions of the road. It is also on record that the Ogun State government had carried out similar palliative measures on the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, Sagamu-Ogijo-Ikorodu road and other federal roads within the state, because the state is strategically located in such a way that goods and passengers going to all other parts of the country have to pass through the gateway state.