100,000 athletes from 27 countries for Lagos marathon today

To ensure a hitch-free exercise, the state government announced the deployment of 300 officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority across major parts of the city to make human and vehicular movement easier during the duration of the event.

However, following the announcement, motorists and residents had expressed deep concern over the closure of some roads within the city today, saying it would affect their movements and businesses.

Commercial bus drivers, who decried the situation, however, told Saturday PUNCH that fares might be increased if there is heavy traffic within the city and many passengers stranded at bus stops.

One of them, Alhaji Kareem, said, “Normally, I run the Ibafo, Obalende and CMS route but because the Third Mainland Bridge would be closed for the most part of the day, I may not work. Instead, I could ply Ibafo to Berger throughout the day. It is what I meet on ground that would determine if I would increase my fare or not.”

Another commercial bus driver, Fatai Akindele, told Saturday PUNCH that the marathon was going to affect his income for the day because he would not be able to make the number of trips he usually covers.

“I have just fixed my bus with the hope of working with it for most part of Saturday so that I can gather some money only for me to hear that some roads would be closed between 7am and 2pm. This will cause serious problem for us because we would not be able to pick enough passengers and meet our target for the day,” he said.

A private car owner, Mr. Kayode Bamidele, who works with a company in the Lagos Island area of the city, said that the traffic diversion would “really” affect him because he had to be in the office at all cost.

Another motorist, Mr. Adesuyi Elijah, said that since the closure would start by 7am and with the way he “suffered” during last year’s edition, he would leave his house by 5am to be able to keep up with his “very important” appointment.

Mrs. Joy Ikeagbu, a food canteen operator around the Jibowu area of the city, said she won’t bother going to her shop today from her Oworonshoki home because the marathon and closure of some roads would have a negative impact on her business.

Other business owners who spoke to Saturday PUNCH lamented that the road closure would lead to a significant drop in patronage and income for the day.

Source: Punchng