– invites works commissioner, contractors

– lawmakers to submit list of abandoned roads to govt

The Lagos State House of Assembly has called on the Government to urgently address the pain of residents in relation to some roads.

The lawmakers at a sitting presided over by Speaker Mojisola Lasbat Meranda particularly mentioned the abandoned Bola Ahmed Tinubu Road in Igbogbo-Baiyeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA) urging Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to direct the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to ensure that HITECH Construction Company resumes work on it.

They also urged all relevant agencies to develop a concrete plan for completing the project while ensuring adequate security measures for residents in the affected community.

Contained in the House resolution was that the contractors should receive an upfront payment of 60 to 70 percent to facilitate the prompt completion of projects.

Rt. Hon. Meranda directed all the lawmakers to compile lists of abandoned roads in their constituencies for submission to the appropriate ministry for immediate action.

The resolution followed a ‘matter of urgent public importance’ raised by Hon. Aro Moshood, who decried the hardship faced by Ikorodu residents due to the abandoned road.

“This road has been left in a deplorable state since 2017. What was meant to bring relief to the people has now become a source of distress, posing serious security and socio-economic challenges,” Moshood said.

The lawmaker highlighted the alarming rate of criminal activities including kidnappings, accidents and sexual assaults, all linked to the poor condition of the road in the area.

Contributing to the debate, Hon. Abiodun Ogunleye stressed the strategic importance of the road to the state adding that its completion would significantly boost economic activities in the area.

On his part, Hon. Lukmon Sa’ad Olumoh criticized the prolonged delay in the completion of the road, noting that the House had approved funds for the project in the previous year.

“It is disappointing that a road construction project has been abandoned for over seven years. I was part of a committee that inspected ongoing road projects across the state last year and contractors cited the fluctuating exchange rate as a major challenge.

“This House should invite the contractor handling the project to clarify whether they received the funds approved by this Assembly,” Hon. Olumoh said.

Deputy Chief Whip of the House, Hon. Sanni Ganiyu Okanlawon, insisted on a decisive action by the government. He also called on the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure as well as contractors to explain why the project remains uncompleted.

“This issue of abandoned road projects should not be treated with levity. I urge this House to summon the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, alongside the contractors, to explain why these projects have stalled,” he stated.

Hon. Tobun Abiodun proposed enacting a law to mandate all administrations to complete projects initiated by their predecessors so as to prevent cases of uncompleted projects.

Speaking about the challenge, Deputy Majority Leader Adedamola Richard Kasunmu stressed that the issue extended beyond Ikorodu.

“This is not just an Ikorodu problem. It is happening across the state. We need to summon all relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to provide explanations for these abandoned roads,” he said.

Following extensive deliberations, the Assembly unanimously resolved to summon the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure and the contractors to provide a detailed report on the status of abandoned road projects in Lagos State.

Nigeria experienced another nationwide blackout on Wednesday following the collapse of the national grid, the second such incident this year.

The incident occurred around 11:30 am on Wednesday, making it the second time the national grid will be suffering setback this year.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has yet to disclose the cause.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) confirmed the incident, stating:

“We regret to inform you that a system disturbance occurred on the national grid at 11:34 a.m., causing power outages across our coverage areas. While gradual restoration has begun, we are working with stakeholders to fully stabilize supply.”

A popular Nigeria National Grid account on X also reported the collapse, noting that parts of the country were affected.

When contacted, TCN spokesperson Ndidi Mbah said she was in transit and would respond later.

This latest failure follows a similar collapse on January 11, 2025. In 2024, the national grid suffered at least 12 collapses, highlighting ongoing instability in Nigeria’s power sector.

The blackout at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, has now ended as the management of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company yesterday restored power to the teaching hospital.

The restoration of power to the hospital was confirmed to newsmen by the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Professor Jesse Abiodun Otegbayo.

Recall that the hospital had been thrown into darkness after the distribution company cut off their power following a huge debt running into millions of Naira.

The strained customer-vendor relationship prompted the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu to pay a working visit to the hospital during which he brokered peace between the two managements. IBEDC then promised to restore power within 24–48 hours.

Initially, when Vanguard asked him if energy had been restored to the hospital, he answered in affirmative but added that a fault had been discovered outside the hospital which the IBEDC team were trying to fix.

Prof Otegbayo said in a terse message, “Yes, but they have reported fault outside the hospital which they are attending to“.

Some moments later, the CMD confirmed it that the power had been restored.

He said, “IBEDC power is now on in University College Hospital, Ibadan.”

Prior to the reconnection, the CMD explained that when the power was cut, the management tried to reduce the effects by solarizing some emergency areas in the hospital.

Professor Otegbayo said, “The management applied some temporary measures to cushion the effects of the power outage.

“We have installed solar inverters to major areas in the hospital such as Intensive Care Unit, Children’s Emergency Ward, Endoscopic Unit, Cardiac unit and others.

“All these wards have solar inverters to provide energy so that the wards and patients will not be in darkness. Our short term measures will continue to stabilize the emergency areas. Some of our underground cables have been there for more than 50 years. That’s not within the budget of the hospital.

But, the public doesn’t know what we are passing through.”

The hospital had dismissed a report that some patients brought in their generators as an alternative.

The management clarified further that anyone who came to the hospital at night would see that some departments had lights.