Shammeh, CDAs agree to use devt levy to fix Ago-Okota roadsS
– Shammeh, CDAs agree to use devt levy to fix Ago-Okota roads
By Damilola Kushimo
A consensus to use development levy to fix the bad roads in the Ago-Okota areas of Isolo LCDA was the conclusion of talks between council chairman and the leaders of the community development associations.
The CDAs, representing the commuters and residents plying Ago Palace Way, Okota were seeking the intervention of the state and local government authorities to rehabilitate the high traffic corridor to decongest the road.
The concerned citizens who spoke with ECHONEWS complained that the bad condition of the road has been causing unwarranted gridlocks at some points where there were no holdups before.
“This is Chemist bus stop, you can see an officer controlling traffic. Normally traffic is not supposed to be there, the traffic is caused by the bad road,” one of the commuters complained.
Meanwhile, the council chairman, last week, engaged the Ago/Okota community leaders on grassroots development
He charged the community leaders of Ago and Okota areas to start imposing development levy on residents to meet developmental needs of the areas.
The council boss handed out the charge when he engaged a league of Community Development Associations (CDAs) in an interactive session on ways the associations could collaborate with the council to bring development to the areas.
Representatives of the CDAs which includes Victory Estate, Hossanah Estate, Ago Palace Way, Peace Estate, Harmony Estate, Park View Estate, Liberty Estate and Goshen Estate had ample opportunity to present their pressing challenges which bother mostly on poor road and flooding to the council boss.
They took the council chairman alongside the council engineer, Engr. Alonge Olaleye and the HOD Environment, Mrs. Kemi Lamidi on a tour of some of the dark spots in their areas to further drive home their challenges.
Led by Rtd. Capt. Akingboye, the CDAs complained about the poor state of inner streets in Ago and Okota areas which had brought untold hardship on residents.
The communities also reported activities of illegal toll operators who collected tolls from heavy duty vehicles without having recourse to repair the road.
Responding, Olaleye appreciated the community leaders for interacting with the council and bringing developmental issues to the front-burner of discussion with the council.
While acknowledging that infrastructural development of the grassroots is the constitutional responsibility of the local government, he however revealed that paucity of fund and other institutional burdens have combined to hinder the council from discharging their responsibilities creditably.
He stressed that the paltry federal allocation is not enough to meet developmental challenges confronting the councils noting that not less than 300 streets populate Ago and Okota areas.
He therefore advised the CDAs to look inward to find alternative solutions to the developmental challenges of their areas through communal effort and being public-spirited.
“Having the development of our dream goes beyond taking cosmetic steps. You must be proactive. If all our millionaires could be public-spirited, our community would be a better place to live,” he said.