Lagos-Ibadan highway to be inaugurated in June, says FG

The federal government says the Lagos-Ibadan expressway will be commissioned next month.

Mu’azu Sambo, minister of state for works and housing, disclosed this on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York.

Sambo added that the Second Niger Bridge will be commissioned in October.

On October 11, President Muhammadu Buhari said the Second Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan expressway, and other key projects under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) will be completed before 2023.

Last month,  Babatunde Fashola, minister of works and housing, said the Second Niger Bridge was at a 91 percent completion rate.

According to Sambo, Buhari has handed over 941 km of road projects between November 25 and December 13, 2021, to connect 10 states in five geo-political zones.

“The Second Niger Bridge that has alluded every administration will be commissioned in October by President Muhammadu Buhari and Lagos-Ibadan highway that has deferred previous administrations will be commissioned in June,” Sambo said.

“They represent critical infrastructure necessary to develop a country and its people, for them to be able to get on with their lives in an easy and convenient way.

“President Buhari clearly understands the necessity to invest in infrastructure, not just to support a growing population but as an economic driver.

“It is, therefore, not surprising that, through the federal ministry of works and housing, we are managing over 1,019 contracts involving 958 bridges and road projects.”

The minister also said the federal government is also constructing houses in 34 states of the federation, citing about 6,000 housing units nationwide so far.

He added that infrastructure is the bedrock of development as it covers all the sectors of life.