Sanwo-Olu apologises as work on Independence Bridge causes gridlock

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has apologised to Lagosians who were left stranded in hours-long gridlock owing to the repair work going on at the Independence Bridge in Lagos.

The closure of the Independence Bridge for repair work left thousands of Lagosians grounded in the area between Wednesday evening and early yesterday. Videos and photos of stranded commuters in the area had gone viral on social media, prompting a backlash.

But yesterday morning, Governor Sanwo-Olu visited the area to inspect the level of work. He apologised to Lagosians over the traffic situation, saying more should have been done in communicating with residents of the state over the development.

“First, I think what is appropriate is really to first tender apologies to all our citizens and to all Lagosians for the very, very difficult, heinous traffic that we experienced in the last 24 hours in the city and within the island of Lagos,” the governor who was accompanied by his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat and other government officials said while inspecting the project.

“I think this apology is important so that we can take full responsibility as a government, both at the national and sub-national levels, for just taking our people through an unfortunate incident.”