*Governor reiterates his commitment to lasting peace, togetherness in Lagos
*Asks politicians to shun divisive acts, statements
Etim Ekpimah
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has reassured residents of the State that Red Line Rail will be delivered to them as an alternative means of transportation before the end of his first term in office.
The governor gave the assurance on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, while speaking to journalists at Oyingbo in Lagos after an inspection tour of the ongoing Red Line Rail project and vehicular overpass bridges at Yaba and Oyingbo train stations.
Sanwo-Olu, who was accompanied on the tour by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, the Managing Director of the Lagos Area Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA), Engr. Abimbola Akinajo and some cabinet members said his administration is on track towards delivering the dividends of democracy to Lagosians, irrespective of the ethnic or religious divide they belong to.
According to Mr Gboyega Akosile, Chief Press Secretary Gov. Sanwo-Olu, during the inspection, Sanwo-Olu was welcomed by an elated crowd at the Yaba and Oyingbo train stations, where commercial activities were ongoing peacefully.
Lagos residents in the area came out in large numbers to congratulate the governor on his recent electoral victory and also expressed their appreciation for developmental projects in different parts of the state.
While expressing satisfaction with the progress and level of work on the Red Line Rail, which is in its first phase is from Oyingbo to Agbado, Governor Sanwo-Olu said the State Government will intensify efforts to educate and enlighten traders along the Right of Way of the Red Line Rail of the dangers of staying there.
He said the project at different stages of completion has five Vehicular Overpass Bridges, including Oyingbo, Yaba, Mushin to Onipanu, and Ikeja, to forestall train-vehicle accidents and reduce travel time for Lagosians.
“We believe we are still on track. We believe it should be ready before the end of our first term depending on when we want to commission it. We will be doing a lot of testing, and signalization because these road tracks will also be working with the Nigerian Railway Corporation, operating a train from Ebute-Meta in Lagos to Ibadan. We need to be able to harmonize a lot of signalizations between our rail infrastructure and the Nigerian Railway Corporation rail infrastructure.
“All the vehicular overpass bridges are very important because of the unfortunate train and bus accident that we saw a few weeks ago at Shogunle. So, all these bridges we are building, apart from the fact that they are full vehicular bridges, are also to stop trains, vehicles, and passengers needing to interact. The highest grade of ensuring that you completely remove any contact with rail is when you build a complete alternative mode of transportation for passengers, pedestrians, and vehicles,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu told journalists that the early resumption of work immediately after the 2023 elections was to fulfil the ‘more work’ promise during the campaign to deliver the ‘Lagos Project.’
He expressed delight with the peaceful coexistence among various ethnic nationals living in Lagos State, especially in Yaba and Oyingbo, where there are many commercial activities.
“I came out today for us to get to work. Campaigns and elections in our view are over, we need to continue to serve our citizens. We still have about 67 days to go in our first term. So, we have to ensure that everything we need to do to be able to finish the first tenure is done. For us, the election is behind us. It is work that we have promised Lagosians that we are back to do. As a peaceful individual, I am committed to more peaceful co-existence among all Lagosians.
“We want to tell the people who are still carrying politics of bitterness that they should see the bigger picture and join us in meeting the aspiration of Lagosians, which is to provide an economic opportunity for them to make this place peaceful and continue to provide that economic space for them to be able to earn a living and be a better citizen for themselves and their family,” he said.