Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, says Lagosians will
know what they will be missing if his administration is not allowed a second
term.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday,
Sanwo-Olu said his government is trying to do its best and meet the
expectations of citizens and also finish his first term “strong”.
He said when the time comes, he would ask questions, consult
stakeholders on what they want and the way forward.
“As you speak, we have done about two-thirds of our time;
about 66.7 percent because we count it every day. The field is not open yet but
for me, it is about ensuring that these four years that I have, I promise my
citizens to put every bit of my sweat into it,” Sanwo-Olu said.
“I will ask, I will
consult. Citizens, how do you see it? These are some of the things; that’s how
you get it down. Try and finish very strong. You know when it is time for us to
do all the politicking we will do it.
“I think we are doing a very good job if I dare say so. I
think the citizens know what it is they will be missing if they don’t let us
continue to wrap up all the things we are doing.”
“OUR PLAN FOR
TRANSPORTATION IN 2022”
On his administration’s plan on metro rail, Sanwo-Olu said
the vision of his government is to reduce traffic and the time commuters spend
on the road.
“Time is money and we need to move millions of people in
Lagos from one corridor to another. The vision is to reduce travel time and
gridlock on the road,” he said.
“And be able to do a better journey planning where you can
predict pretty much this journey will take you 25 minutes, 30 minutes, not the
one you get lost on the road that we have now and you are there for 2, 3 hours.
Asked much will the trains cost the average Lagosians, he
replied: “I don’t think citizens will be breaking their backs. It will be
affordable; N200, N250. It probably won’t be more than that.
“I really cannot say
because the fare structure will be where you are joining to where you are
hopping off. Typically, it won’t be more than what you are running on your BRT
lines today. It certainly cannot be more than that. For it to be accessible,
affordability is critical for people to make it a better option.
“Now, it is quicker instead of you staying one hour on the
road, it’s going to take you 20 minutes which comes with a lot of benefits.
Affordability is critical, it’s not going to be in the thousands.
“At best, if our operators say that ‘No, Mr Governor, it is
more expensive’. We can do a financing metrics… I will give you a longer tenure
time to be able to defray your cost but keep it affordable for our citizens.”
He also said the state will start testing the blue rail
lines this year.
“And by the grace of
God, we will also be completing the blue line. What Lagosians are expecting
from us will be actively working with trains — two rail lines by the first
quarter of this year.
“We would have started testing by this year. If we don’t
bring passengers on, it will be for security reasons. The trains will be on
track by the 4th quarter, the terminal stations will be ready by the fourth
quarter.
“It will probably be
like things around communication that we are trying to test. We will probably
be doing some test run by the end of this quarter.”
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