Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has accused officials of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) of defrauding the Federal Government and Nigerians by taking credit for roads rehabilitated by the State government.
He made the revelation during an interactive session with journalists at the Lagos House in Marina on Tuesday.
Fashola said, “The Apapa- Oshodi Expressway belongs to the Federal Government, the Apapa Port belongs to the Federal Government, but the city road inside the GRA belongs to us and we have awarded contracts on six to seven roads in the area.
“We have done the phase one and the phase two is about commencing. After we finished the first phase, we discovered that tankers were leaving the port to park on the roads built for residents. And this was a failure of supervision and management by the agencies of the Federal Government. The matter has not been resolved; it is still a tricky one.
“FERMA is now putting signposts on areas and roads where we have worked, deceiving its employer in Abuja that it is working. I have taken photographs of the area and sent to the Minister of Works that I hope the people you are giving money to in Lagos are accounting for the money you are giving them because all the works they claim that they did, we did them.
“That is the fraud that is going on now. They use money from the Subsidy Reinvestment Empwerment Programme (SUREP) and they are moving about deceiving people in Abuja that they are using it to work in Lagos. To their minds, that is what they will use to win elections here by next year, but the people of Lagos are no fools.
“The Lagos-Badagry Expressway is also making progress; we would soon go back there on inspection. I get regular reports from three different sources on the project. There is also a lot of progress on Lagos light rail projects especially from Mile2 to Costain.”
“So, it is a gradual process, what you are seeing there is an abandonment that has last over two decades. 7up areas used to be very jam parked; it was almost becoming unmotorable but now, in five minute you can drive round the area. So, it is a lot of work and a lot still need to be done.”