•Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos
The federal government has ordered the arrest and prosecution of the contractor sand filling the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos.
Minister for Works, David Umahi, made this known while responding to questions from our correspondent on the implications of dredging and sand filling around the bridge, reports The Guardian.
Umahi did not disclose who gave the permission for sand filling in the area or the name of the project owner and why the federal government allowed the construction pace to be sand filled for months without any comment.
The project started in a small portion of the lagoon last year and the contractor stopped after a while and resumed two months later.
Umahi said: “We have directed the arrest of the person sand-filling the lagoon in the third mainland bridge and we have equally directed that all the activities in that location should stop.
“The Federal Executive Council (FEC) directed that no sand filling or dredging be done about 10 kilometres all through.
“We have directed the arrest and he’s going to be prosecuted. Every activity around the Third Mainland Bridge has been directed to stop. I am yet to know the identity of the person but we will soon start his prosecution.”
Responding to reports that the federal government is only focused on 13 projects in the country, he said: “The report is terrible. We have over 10 projects in a region alone. I don’t know who posted that but people have been calling me that our projects are not there but we are seeing what the president is doing. The president is doing mega projects.
“We have over 13 major projects going on in each region. You can count six major projects the president is doing in one state, both new and inherited.
“Journalists should be able to correct the public when they make this kind of claim; the Lekki seaport road to Epe and others are ongoing in Lagos. I can count about 15 in Kano under the watch of President Bola Tinubu.”
Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said: “You are just asking me now, I will find out about the projects.”
