By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Lagos State chapter of the Labour Party has tasked Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to ensure the recently commissioned Red Line Rail does not turn out to be another failure due to poor maintenance culture.
In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mrs Olubunmi Odesanya, the opposition party appealed to the state government to ensure its sustainability.
While greeting residents of the metropolis on the project, which was commissioned last Tuesday by President Bola Tinubu, the Labour Party faulted the timing of its completion, saying the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ought to have put the initiative in place a long time ago since it had been in power since 1999 in Lagos.
“While we would like to felicitate with the people of the state on the coming on stream of the project as it is being commissioned by President Bola Tinubu, we are, however, sceptical with regards to whether it (the project) will be sustainable considering past efforts of the state government in the sector,” the party’s spokesperson said.
Mrs Odesanya stated that with over 15 million people living in the Lagos metropolis, the state government, which has been led by the same political affiliation in the last 24 years, has failed to put in place an enduring transportation system that would sustain the population.
“We thank God that the officials have been able to pull this initiative through after many years in government but this sense of joy is further diminished by the fact that virtually all of such interventions in the sector in the part have failed,” she said.
She further added that though the cost for the project is still shrouded in secrecy, the Labour Party in Lagos warned that it would be a disservice to the people of the state if the project fails again like the ones before it.
“We are aware that the major concerted efforts at addressing the problem of public commuting started under former Governor Babatunde Fashola who decided to launch the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) scheme in March 2008.
“It is to his credit that a few big, luxury buses were introduced into the system which kept increasing ever since but eventually went under. The former governor also tried to improve transport infrastructure by creating dedicated lanes for these buses to operate.
“The state government also built several BRT terminals across the state which eventually became hideouts to criminal elements. In the end, the buses became unavailable as at when due and eventually out of circulation,” she said.
“What the Labour Party in Lagos is demanding is value for money and how that can be achieved is through sustainability of the project like its counterparts across the world,” Mrs Odesanya stated.
