Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday, July 30, 2019, rated the performance of Public Works Corporations, LSPWC, low in maintaining roads and other infrastructure in the state, saying there are too many bad roads.
The Chairman, House ad hoc Committee on LSPWC, Mr Setonji David (APC-Badagry II) during an oversight visit of project sites, said that it had not justified its budgetary allocation.
David expressed dissatisfaction when he led other members of the committee, Messrs Rasheed Makinde (Ifako-Ijaiye II), Noheem Adams (Eti-Osa I) and Olayiwola Olawale (Mushin II) on oversight function to some project sites of the LSPWC.
The committee visited IPP/Sewage Plant Road, Ikeja, and Lagos State Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relation Multi-Agency Complex Car Park, Oshodi.
The committee also visited Gatan Kowa Market Road in Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area, Alimosho and Opeloyeru Street in Mushin.
He said there was need to restructure the corporation for optimal performance.
The lawmaker, who frowned at the incompetence of engineers and contractors that handled some of the projects, said that public funds should be judiciously spent for the purposes they were meant for.
“We are here on oversight function to inspect what the LSPWC claims they had done so far and what we have seen so far has been quite deplorable. The state of the roads are very bad.
“This is our second day, the other day, we went to Ibeju-Lekki area, we noticed the same thing. We are here again to see this road (Opeloyeru Street), what they are claiming they have done is not good enough.
“There is need to restructure LSPWC. The output of what they are giving to the society is not encouraging,” David said.
On how the LSPWC could perform optimally, the chairman said that such was left with the executive arm of government.
“Our concern is to ensure that it LSPWC does what is right. What we have seen so far is not encouraging to us. The tax payers are not getting what they are supposed to get.
“The road they claimed to have done last year is in a very bad state. The drainage system is not functioning, the road itself is bad.
“I am an engineer; if they have done what is right, the road will not fail within a year. Some of these roads were done less than one year ago and they are in very bad state. What we have seen so far is not encouraging,” he said.
He said that for the state to move forward, the corporation must do the right thing.
David, however, said that some works were carried out satisfactorily.
On the need to allow legislators, who are closer to the people to set agenda on road maintenance for LSPWC, the lawmaker said that such would benefit majority of residents of the state.
According to him, the corporation, in some instances will leave bad roads undone and work on the averagely good ones.
Femi Daramola, the general manager of LSPWC, who took the lawmakers round, declined to speak to newsmen after the exercise.
