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Amuwo Odofin LG Boss, Buraimoh Under Attack over FESTAC Traffic Crisis
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Residents, motorists and commuters in Festac Town, the festival town in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos, have berated the chairman of the council, Engr. Valentine Buraimoh, over the deplorable state of the roads in the area that has caused them untold hardships every day.
Of major concern is the 2nd Avenue Road, a major gateway to the community which is bogged down by heavy traffic jam on a daily basis.
Though the council boss in a recent report claimed that the congestion was the barricade placed on 2nd Avenue Road by the Area E Police Command, residents however, believe that the gridlock is as a result of insensitivity and neglect of the major roads by the LG Boss especially in fixing the gaping potholes which have become more deplorable over the years due to lack of maintenance and also road diversion to educate motorists on alternative roots to decongest that root. Also the refusal of the local government council to work with other state agency like LASMA because Engr. Valentine Buraimoh is noted to be hostile on his dealings with them.
The Area E Command, like most other police stations in Lagos had barricaded a lane on the access dualize road in front of their offices for fear of another possible attack by hoodlums who had hijacked the #EndSARS protests and resent for fear of another attack by commercial motorcycle operators (Okada riders) who had violently protested and forcefully confronted the Lagos State environmental taskforce who came to enforce the law of Lagos State on restriction of commercial motorcycles from the Oshodi Apapa expressway
One of the residents, Pastor Omotore Folorunsho, said: “Please, don’t allow anyone to deceive you, the barricade on the 2nd Avenue Road has nothing to do with the heavy traffic jam. If the roads are good, their would have been no traffic. All the alternative roads in Festac Town are terribly bad. You can come and investigate it your self. We call on the Federal and State Government to open a panel of enquiry to investigate what the local government chairman has been doing with the Federal and State allocation with the internally generated revenue. All services are down in the local government. The health centers are in a state of disrepair. Many primary schools are also in a very bad sharp. We use to have road sweepers by previous administration but does days are history. The drainages are all blocked and the environment is totally very dirty. A typical example are the entrance gates to Festac Town. Go to first , second and third gates, you will cry for Festac Town. All the Chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government does is collect the monthly allocation and loot the money. We call on EFCC to come and investigate this local government.
“For now, the action of the police is the best because if hoodlums are allowed to attack the police station, and loot the weapons, they would use the weapons they steal to attack residents and motorists of this local government.
“As far as I am concerned, we don’t have a local government council chairman. The council chairman, Engr. Buraimoh, has failed. What has he used all the allocations he has received so far to do? I can tell you, nothing! No meaningful development.”
Another resident, Femi Adeyinka, who has lived in the neighbourhood for over 30 years, said the roads have remained the same over 5 years, without any effort by the local government to improve them.
“For over five years now, the state of roads has been so deplorable especially in Festac Town. Residents find it hard to go out of their homes with ease. It is much terrible during the raining season.
“If you go to other communities, you would find better roads and other infrastructures because residence have taking their faith into their own hands by repairing and constructing their roads with their own money without any help from the local government, but Festac Town is still in a very bad condition.
“At every available opportunity, we made appeals to the local government chairman Engr. Valentine Buraimoh, to fix all the bad roads but he refused to respond and when he tries to respond, he does so with bad road repair. We want the council to come and repair the roads using competent contractors,” he said.
Corroborating the residents, Adewumi Ogunsina, one of the councillors representing Ward K in the council, berated the council chairman, Engr. Valentine Buraimoh, stressing that he was only hiding under the cover as he has refused to address the real challenge confronting the people in the local government.
Hon. Ogunsina said: “Since Engr. Buruiamoh assumed office in 2017, the people of Amuwo Odofin Local government have continued to languish in pain because the council chairman doesn’t care about the people or the community but only on how to enrich himself.
“On the barricade on the 2nd Avenue Road, Engr. Buraimoh is only lying and using that as cover-up. Do you know that there are over six alternative roads that can take you away from that part of 2nd Avenue infront of the Area E command and Festac Police Station into and out of Festac town but people avoid those places because they are not motorable? The roads are so bad and the chairman has refused to fix them.
“Just last week, there was even an attempt by okada riders at 2nd Rainbow around the Jakande Low cost Housing Estate to burn down the Area E Police command and Festac Police Station, so what do you expect the police to do? Should they fold their hands and allow their command be looted and set on fire?
The problem is not the police but the deplorable state of roads in the local government alongside the drainages which the council chairman has refused to desilt for a long time. Go and long at the drainages, you will see that they are all blocked.
“There are supervisors in the local government executive council, do you know that the chairman has not held the weekly executive meeting for over 10 months
We have seven councillors in the council, do you know that the chairman doesn’t meet with us to discuss development of the area or even to get approval?
It will shock you to know that the Chairman takes decisions alone and simply because I challenge his actions, he decided to side-line me totally and align with the other six as he spends the money of the local government at his own free will.
He runs the council like his private company because he believes that he is untouchable.
I once again appeal to the Lagos State House of Assembly to institute a panel of enquiry to investigate the criminality and maladministration in Amuwo Odofin Local Government
Efforts to reach Engr. Buraimoh for his reactions to the development proved futile as calls and text messages placed to his mobile phone were not responded to as at press time.
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria is set to be officially unveiled in Abuja this weekend, as the organisation prepares to strengthen the club’s fan base and promote community development through football.
Amongst the high profile personalities lined up for the unveiling ceremony include, business leaders, celebrities and notable Arsenal supporters like former Gunner, Kanu Nwankwo, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Senator Dino Melaye amongst others.
The unveiling will form part of a two-day programme beginning on Friday, October 16, with delegates from state and city chapters expected to converge on the nation’s capital for the club’s second Annual General Meeting (AGM).
According to a press release issued on Monday by the organisation, the celebrations will feature sporting activities, a community sanitation initiative and a formal launch event attended by prominent personalities and Arsenal supporters.
National President of Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria, Charles Ojugbana, said the organisation draws inspiration from the achievements of Nigerian-descent footballers, including former Super Eagles striker Kanu Nwankwo and current stars Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.
The former General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) said the club aims to improve the football fan experience while expanding support for Arsenal across Nigeria.
Activities scheduled for Saturday include aerobic sessions and a novelty football match before members proceed to Wuse Market for a clean-up campaign.
As part of the outreach, the club plans to donate refuse bins and other sanitation materials to the market’s leadership, in line with its commitment to philanthropy and community development.
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria operates through a governance structure comprising a Board of Trustees, a National Executive Committee and a General Assembly, which serves as the organisation’s highest decision-making body.
The club also disclosed plans to promote awareness of Down syndrome among children in March 2027, as part of activities to commemorate World Down Syndrome Day.
The programme expresses the organisation’s ambition to extend its activities beyond football fandom to charitable causes and support for vulnerable members of the society.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised the alarm over a fraudulent publication circulating online concerning governorship candidates in six states ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission denied issuing the purported special announcement affecting Zamfara, Gombe, Delta, Plateau, Yobe and Kano states, warning Nigerians against being misled by the document.
In a public notice, INEC described the circulating publication as fake, stressing that it did not originate from the commission.
“The Commission wishes to categorically inform the general public that the publication is FAKE and did not originate from INEC,” the notice stated.
The electoral body urged Nigerians to disregard the publication and avoid sharing it, warning that the circulation of false electoral information could mislead the public.
INEC further clarified that it had not issued any special announcement concerning governorship candidates in the six affected states.
“The Commission further wishes to clarify that any information suggesting that INEC has issued a special announcement concerning governorship candidates in the aforementioned states is false,” it stated.
The commission advised political parties, candidates and members of the public to verify electoral information through its official website, news portal and verified social media accounts.
It also urged Nigerians to remain vigilant against fraudulent publications, particularly as preparations continue for the 2027 elections.
INEC reiterated its commitment to providing accurate electoral information and called on the public to rely exclusively on its official communication channels.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has defended the Federal Government’s decision to divert the Ondo section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, saying the original route crossed terrain with pits more than 100 metres deep and would have significantly increased construction costs.
The minister said he was aware of petitions accusing him of diverting the route in Ondo State but maintained that the decision was justified.
“I am aware of petitions against me saying I diverted the Ondo section. I welcome that. That is how it is supposed to be because we are serving the public. You are subject to public scrutiny.
“But the important thing is whether you are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. We have no regret for decisions taken in Ondo,” he said.
According to Umahi, the original alignment passed through terrain with pits exceeding 100 metres in depth and lacked suitable sharp sand for up to 300 metres, making construction along the corridor considerably more expensive.
“You want me to pass through a terrain that you have over 100 metres of pits deep, and I have no defined sharp sand to 300 metres, and you expect the cost of one kilometre to be the same cost with a road passing through normal terrain?” he asked.
He said the ministry consequently undertook a detour and redesign to avoid the difficult terrain.
“We had to take a very serious engineering decision by making a detour, redesigning it to avoid such route. We are doing filling of over 10 metres, which is 30 feet plus, with sharp sand, and filling is almost concluded,” the minister said.
The diversion affects Sections 4A and 4B of the coastal highway, covering 67 kilometres, comprising 27 kilometres in Ogun State and about 40 kilometres in Ondo State. The section will terminate around the Ondo-Edo axis.
Providing an update on the wider project, Umahi said Section 1, a 47.47-kilometre stretch from Victoria Island, Lagos, had been completed and was ready for commissioning.
He added that the dual pavement on Section 2, which covers 55 kilometres and terminates at the Lagos-Ogun boundary, would be completed next month.
The minister said the flyovers, overpasses and underpasses on Section 2 had required extensive redesign, particularly around the Dangote Refinery and Lekki Deep Seaport.
He explained that an 86-metre-span bridge, with 43-metre counterforts, had been designed to accommodate refinery trucks and resolve a traffic conflict involving the deep-seaport train, the Dangote tax-credit road and the 25-kilometre Seventh Axial Road linking Epe to the Sagamu Expressway.
“We have redesigned a very beautiful flyover to resolve that conflict,” Umahi said.
At the Calabar end, he said Sections 3A and 3B, covering 65 kilometres, had achieved more than 30 per cent completion.
He added that work was ongoing on Section 5, an 82-kilometre dual carriageway in Akwa Ibom State, alongside an 88-kilometre link from Calabar to Ebidi Beach intended to connect with the Trans-Saharan route.
Umahi also disclosed that Tinubu had directed that the continuation of the coastal highway from Ondo into Edo State should follow the existing East-West Road rather than a new alignment.
Describing the directive as a major development, the minister said the existing road had been constructed without adequate consideration for climate change and rising flood risks.
He cited flooding at Ahoada about two weeks earlier, saying the permanent solution would involve raising sections of the road to protect it from current and projected flood levels.
“The permanent solution is the decision of Mr President to align the continuation through the East-West Road. We now have to raise the road in many locations by two metres to be above present and expected flood levels,” he said.
Source: Vanguard
