The FRSC Sector Commander in Ogun, Mr Clement Oladele, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Ota, Ogun.

Oladele was reacting to two accidents in the early hours of Saturday that claimed nine lives and 12 injured on Sagamu-Ijebu Ode-Benin Expressway.

NAN reports that one of the accidents occurred when a gang of armed robbers operating at night was robbing travellers.

The commander said that the driver rammed his truck into a car while trying to escape from the robbers.

He said that the advice had become necessary as criminals always operated under the cover of darkness on the highways where the chances of escape from them were minimal.

He said,“ The night and under the cover of darkness is usually attractive to the criminals to operate and carry out their wicked acts.”

The sector commander implored motorists to be conscious of their environment and plan their journeys as various activities such as motorisation and crimes were heightened as the year was coming to an end.

“They should also get their vehicles routinely serviced and avoid offering rides to unknown persons or patronising roadside motor parks.

“Instead, the passengers should board only commercial vehicles at recognised motor parks and ensure they fill correctly their details and those of their next of kin in the passengers’ manifest before embarking on any trip,” Oladele cautioned.

Source: Punch

The Governor on Sunday at the Lagos House Marina, ordered massive construction work on critical roads and highways across the state, beginning from today (Monday).

He gave this directive after the conclusion of his series of meetings with eight multi-national engineering firms, which began a few weeks back, a release signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, states.

It adds, “After his final meeting with the contractors on Sunday, which lasted for about three hours, Sanwo-Olu declared the commencement of major construction work on the identified highways considered critical to the reduction of traffic congestion in the State.

The governor said all the eight engineering firms had been given the mandate to immediately mobilise their equipment on the sites and commence major construction works on the identified roads.”

Continuing, the statement reads: “This afternoon, we have just concluded meeting with various reputable construction companies and all of them have been given the brief to immediately commence major construction work in various parts of the State. The exercise will begin tomorrow with palliative work on the selected roads, which are both on the Island and mainland divisions of the State.

“The contractors have been given the mandate to start mobilising their equipment to their respective sites without further delay. Their activities must first give our people an immediate relief on the affected roads so that there can be free flow of traffic even during the rehabilitation work.”

To complement the major construction work on the highway, Sanwo-Olu said Lagos State Public Works Corporation would be carrying out repairs of 116 inner roads across the State. This, he said, would be in addition to over 200 roads already rehabilitated by the corporation in the last three months.

The governor said he was not unaware of the pain experienced by road users in the past few days, which was compound by persistent downpour. He appealed to residents to bear with the Government while efforts were being made to assuage their pains and bring permanent relief to them.

He said: “We expect the rains will begin to subside in this month of October and this is why we are mobilising our contractors to immediately start the major construction work on the identified highways and bring permanent relief to residents. I am giving all Lagosians the assurance that the contractors will start the construction in earnest and will deliver on the terms of agreements reached with them.”

Sanwo-Olu said officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority will be working round the clock to control traffic on the areas where the construction would take place.

Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure, Aramide Adeyoye, listed some of the critical highways and roads to be constructed to include Ojota stretch of the Ikorodu Road, Motorways-Kudirat Abiola Way, Apogbon Highway, Babs Animashaun Road, Agric/Ishawo Road and Ijede Road in Ikorodu, and Lekki-Epe Expressway from Abraham Adesanya to Eleko Junction.

She added that there would be massive re-construction work on a network of roads in Ikoyi, Ikeja GRA and Victoria Island.

The contractor deployed by the government included Julius Berger, Hitech, Arab Contractors, Metropolitan Construction, Slavabogu Construction, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Rajaf Foundation Construction, and RCF Nigeria Limited.