Residents and business owners along Ogunrombi Street in the Idimu area of Lagos State have lamented the slow pace of a road rehabilitation project, alleging that construction workers block the road and extort motorists seeking access to the community.
During a visit by PUNCH Metro to the project site on Tuesday following complaints, the residents said the project, which involves resurfacing the road from Ogunrombi Street to Orisunmbare, was awarded by the Lagos State Government with a 12-month completion timeline but remained largely unfinished despite the deadline.
They expressed concern that the delay had caused hardship for motorists and businesses, while also raising questions about the quality of work already executed.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told PUNCH Metro during the visit to the community that work on the project began in July 2025, but the contractors had only scraped the road surface and constructed drainage channels.
“We are bothered by what is going on on our street, Ogunrombi Street, Idimu. The Lagos State Government awarded the contract for resurfacing the road from Ogunrombi to Orisunmbare for 12 months. They started in July 2025.
“As I speak, they have only scraped the surface and done the drainage. That is all they were able to achieve within the scheduled time for delivery of the job,” the resident said.
The resident accused the construction workers of deliberately obstructing traffic and demanding money from motorists before allowing them to pass.
“This week, they did literally nothing other than block the roads with their equipment to prevent vehicular movement, treating the people in the community with contempt. They converted the roadblock into a tollgate, extorting motorists to secure passage,” the resident alleged.
Another resident, Tunde Filani, said the workers had, at one point, used a caterpillar to block the entire road for a week before moving the equipment to one side and parking a truck on the other, leaving motorists with limited access.
He alleged that the workers subsequently demanded money from motorists before allowing them to pass.
Filani said the owner of an event centre along the road had to contact the contractor after the obstruction disrupted access to the facility, prompting the contractor to direct the workers to open the road.
“The suffering is too much for us, and there is no hope that the project will be completed in another year, given the speed of work,” he added.
A commercial motorcycle rider also decried the delay, alleging that the workers blocked the end of the road linking OPC Junction and demanded money from operators before allowing them to pass.
“They used their caterpillar to block the road last month and prevented us from using it. It was blocked at the other end of the road linking OPC Junction. So, we had to pay N10,000 weekly for us to pass,” the rider alleged.
The rider said the payments were made by officials of their unit on behalf of members to secure passage.
Similarly, Francis Udo, a manager of a company located along the road, said the slow pace of construction had adversely affected the business, forcing it to operate at a loss.
Udo explained that the removal of the company’s drive-in access at the commencement of the project had prevented its trucks from entering the premises, while vehicles parked outside had been vandalised twice.
“We have been subjected to hardship as a result of this project. Our business has been running at a loss. When they started, they removed the drive-ins, and since then, we have not been able to move our truck into the compound.
“While we park outside, our truck has been vandalised twice. We had hoped that the work would be completed by July, but they are still foot-dragging,” he lamented.
He also alleged that the workers resorted to blocking the road and demanding money from motorists instead of accelerating the project.
“Instead of them to hasten up, they resorted to block the road and extort motorists. Sometimes, we paid N3,000 before they would allow us passage. It was later that their leader ordered them to open the road,” he alleged.
Beyond the delay and alleged extortion, the residents raised concerns about the quality of the work, particularly the drive-ins constructed along the road.
A resident, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that some of the drive-ins had started collapsing barely a month after construction.
“The drive-ins they made have started collapsing under the weight of small cars, and this is just a period of one month,” the resident said.
Another resident alleged that some landlords around the Paiko end of the road had contributed money to purchase iron materials after raising concerns about the quality of materials being used by the contractors.
During the visit, PUNCH Metro observed that construction work was ongoing at the Foursquare Avenue end of the road.
A project signboard erected at both ends of the road identified the Lagos State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure as the agency handling the project and indicated a 12-month completion period.
The residents appealed to the state government and relevant authorities to investigate the allegations of extortion and substandard work, ensure the quality of the construction and expedite the project’s completion.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Adeshina Odunuga, could not be reached for comment, as calls made to his telephone line on Tuesday were not answered.
A text message sent to him had yet to be replied to as of the time this report was filed.