Transportation System in Lagos Worsening—CHDR President

By Emmanuel Udom

The president of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Mr Debo Adeniran, has said the transportation system in Lagos is worsening despite the huge revenue being generated by the state government.

Speaking on Thursday in Lagos, the human rights activist claimed that the transportation system of the metropolis does not portray it as a mega city.

According to him, from land to sea, rail to air, residents of Lagos are not getting optimum value for their money as far as commuting from one part of Lagos to the other is concerned.

He berated the state government for allowing members of transport unions like the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to harass passengers and commercial drivers.

He stated that they are only interested in collecting their union fees, while commercial bus drivers do their thing their way.

“Some of the roads are bad and deplorable and some transporters capitalize on this to increase their transport fares at their whims and caprices,” he stated at the citizen’s accountability and rights forum held at the Rights House in Ikeja, the state capital.

“Daily, Lagosians are being harassed by transporters plying various routes, increasing their fares without feeling the pulse of the public.

“Also, jetties plying our waterways have unhygienic life jackets, even as some facilities in the government-owned BRT buses are obsolete, uncomfortable and unhygienic,” Mr Adeniran averred.

He further lamented that the air-conditioners installed in various trains are not functioning well, and passengers are made to wait for hours on end to board trains to their various destinations.

The CDHR leader appealed to the Lagos State Commissioner for Transport, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, to work with the various stakeholders in the sector to provide first-class transportation operations to residents.