‘He Built Where We’ll Be Buried, Not Treated’ – Badagry West Residents Fault Council Chair For Building Cemetery While Health Centres Rot
The Chairman of Badagry Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Gbenu Joseph, has been accused of neglecting key developmental needs in the area and prioritising the construction of a cemetery instead.
SaharaReporters learnt that, for instance, primary healthcare centres in the LCDA have now fallen into a deplorable state, while the cemetery has received priority attention.
Sources in the area lamented the non-performance of Joseph, despite the council receiving allocations meant for developmental purposes.
Documents seen by SaharaReporters show that, in two months, a total of N787 million was received by Badagry West from the Joint Accounts Allocation Committee of Lagos State.
In March 2025, a sum of N377 million was received, while N410 million was received in the previous month, February.
“Ward A (Asheri) of the Council, there are two Primary Health Centres (PHCs) here. One was abandoned for over 10 years due to a bat invasion,” a source in the community said.
The other PHC is “poorly managed with bad beddings, open roofs, shattered windows and poor staffing.”
Residents who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed concern, noting that “maternal mortality rate is on the rise.”
They lamented that “instead of fixing these PHCs for the Ward, the chairman chose to build a cemetery and got it inaugurated as part of his valedictory event.”
Pictures seen by SaharaReporters also show the PHCs in a sorry state, with open roofs that leave the healthcare facilities exposed to flooding, posing immense danger to residents who, despite the poor conditions, still rely on them for access to healthcare.
“The situation here is even more painful because there are no private hospitals. It is these same PHCs that are neglected that the residents rely on, and yet where they would be buried are being built, but where they would receive healthcare is neglected,” one of the residents said.
Another resident told SaharaReporters that, in addition to healthcare, access to education is also subpar in Badagry West.
“There are just eight primary schools, four functional PHCs serving over 99 communities. There are no private hospitals in Badagry West,” the resident said.
The residents are now seeking intervention and a financial audit of resources that have been allocated to the LCDA under the administration of Gbenu Joseph.
According to them, the impact of money disbursed cannot be felt, and such questions raise concerns about the transparency of the LCDA leadership.
Efforts by SaharaReporters to reach Mr. Joseph for comment were unsuccessful, as he neither answered calls to his mobile phone nor responded to a message sent to him.(SaharaReporters)
