18th December, 2012
The two council areas on the Lagos Island, the Lagos Island Local Government and Lagos Island East Local Council Development Area, have resuscitated the state’s public transportation system, popularly called Municipal Transport Service.
The initiative which is under the private partnership programme, PPP, in conjunction with Planet Projects Limited, is to ease the movement of residents of the two councils.
The Chairman, Lagos Island Local Government, Mr. Wasiu Eshilokun Sanni, who spoke on behalf of the two local governments at the flag-off ceremony said the reintroduction of the municipal transportation system called Lagos Island Municipal Service, is to ensure a befitting and enduring transportation system in Lagos, considering its mega city status.
Eshilokun said the initiative was not only as a result of the shared vision between the two local governments but also that of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, whom he said has supported the initiative and directed all affiliate agencies to collaborate with the two councils to ensure that project succeeds.
Eshilokun said: “The project will not only give Lagos Island a world class transportation system , the scheme will also be an improvement in the infrastructure around Lagos Island. It will create employment opportunities through support services and facilities management and improve government revenue through taxes from employers and dues from buses, which will have a multiplier effect on Lagos Island’s economy and the state in general.”
The Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Oluranti Adebule, who represented Governor Fashola at the event, tasked the two council chairmen on the need to educate the would-be drivers of the buses on the new traffic law, saying that “such training will help them to discharge their duty well as ignorance will not be tolerated.”
The Oba of Lagos, Rilwanu Akoiolu, who laid the foundation stone of the mini-terminus at Tinubu Square, condemned the operation of commercial motorcycles and asked Lagosians to support Governor Fashola’s new traffic laws, especially on the restriction of Okada on Lagos roads.
The Lagos monarch, however, called on the chairmen of the two councils to absorb some motorcycle operators, who have been rendered jobless by the new traffic law, into the reintroduced transport scheme.
The Chairman of Lagos Island Local Council Development Area, Comrade Kamal Bashua, in his vote of thanks, commended all those that have contributed to making the project a reality, and called on residents of the area to cooperate with the government by paying their taxes to ensure more dividends of democracy.