'Lagos mega city development plan on course'

• Published date: 09 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in this interview with the Television Continental (TVC), speaks about his administration, the THEMES agenda, All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate and former governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and preparations for next months general elections

Transportation is a major issue we have in Lagos State. What is your government doing to help improve transportation across the State?

Transportation is the first pillar in our THEMES agenda. It was something that we designed out of the questions from our audience during our campaign and after we won the election. So, it is not something that just fell on us. Traffic Management and Transportation is the most challenging issue that people asked us to solve. Talking about our direct intervention in that space, we have introduced about 1,300 high-capacity buses which we call BRT. We have introduced about 1,000 medium-capacity buses. We have introduced about 500 First and Last Mile buses, which are like the bigger version of Korope, eight to 10-seat minibuses. We have also introduced about a thousand taxis, which is LAGRIDE. So these are just interventions in straight road infrastructure, which all of us usually ply today. But you know that one-third of Lagos is also water, so the question is how well can we use the water infrastructure as a means to move people from one point to the other?

The good news is that we are currently constructing 16 jetties concurrently and we have actually completed eight of those jetties. We just need time to go and commission; cut the tape so that we can open it up for people. They are like small-small terminals, which people can embark on and disembark. It is meant to improve movement on the waterways. But we are not sitting back just to wait for that completion; we have added about 22 ferries, meaning they are carrying 60, 50, 40, and 30 passengers in fairly big capacities like that.

Two weeks ago, I opened the first Security Command and Control Centre on the waterways, where we have CCTV cameras. We have equipment that can remotely go and pick people from the water because security on the water is very important. If there is an emergency, we have equipment that can remotely go and rescued people. They are like a ball but they can drive on their own without anybody and they can go and rescue you and bring you back. It was launched about two weeks ago and we have the Command and Control Centre at Falomo. We have done fairly enough dredging and we still need to do a bit more.

The third one is the rail. The plan for public transportation is to have what we call an Integrated Urban Mass Transportation System; using rail, waterways, and BRT road infrastructure. All three connections are completed. What you will see is that we have an interplay of a single solution of payment; the Cowry Card. It was the Cowry Card that we used when we went on the train during the recent infrastructure commission of the Blue line rail. Passengers are using the Cowry card to board the ferry and also using it on the buses. It is a single payment solution designed by young Nigerians, Lagosians and we are seeing it; it is working very well.

The plan eventually is to be able to reduce journey time. It is to ensure that you as a mother, you can fairly predict your journey; a journey that hitherto can take you an hour or two hours can be reduced to 30 to 40 minutes so that you can improve the quality of your life. You can determine when you need to get out and come in and also make Lagos a resilient urban working city for all. Are we there yet? Maybe we are not fully there but we have a road map. We have a clear vision. We have a walk-through that will take us there.

Many construction projects are currently going on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway axis but there are some other factors affecting it, especially NUPENG activities while trying to access the port. How do you plan to manage the challenge? We also need ramps like the one on the Ikorodu Expressway where people can easily exist from the Lagos Badagry Expressway to their communities. What is the plan?

The plan around that corridor is to continue to improve apart from the right of way. It is a road that hitherto was four lanes; two lanes on each side that we have turned into 10 lanes. So you can see that it is more than double the number. The plan is to have one BRT corridor; have one lane for BRT, the most inward lane, two express roads and then two outer roads. So, on the bypass road you are talking about, for example, if you are coming in from Eric Moore, you know that at some point in time before you will get to FESTAC or wherever you are going to tee off, make sure you leave the express road and go on the service lane. It is when you are on the service lane that you can now get out. If you come out from FESTAC and you are going to be coming out at Agboju again, why will you want to enter the express road? Stay on the service lane and continue to go until when you get to Agboju or Trade Fair.

One of the challenges is that people want to get on the express and also want to exit at their own convenience; road transportation is not designed like that. Express road is the express road. If I want to do 40kilometers and I am on the express, let me fly the express for at least 35kilometers before I get on the service lane but if I am going to do two and a half kilometers, I shouldn't get on the express and imagine that when I want to get out, it would be available for me to get out. What is called an express cannot be accessible to everybody and anybody at every time because they are moving fast. They want to get to Agbara and begin to go to Badagry faster and quicker, and that is what we promised.

I understand the challenge you talked about. Talking about the NUPENG challenge, for example, we are sitting with NNPC. That corridor strategically feeds about 65 percent of the total fuel corridor of this country. That is where you have all the tank farms, I didn't create it. It is a national issue and if we look at it, we didn't wait for the Federal Government. The Buba Marwa Road that I am doing cost us close to N10 billion. This is a federally used road by all of the tankers that you are talking about. We are constructing the road and the concrete is very thick and we are trying to finish it. So, that will be some sort of continuous conversation that we need to have with NNPC. We don't control NUPENG. So they will tell you that if you don't give them access as well, there won't be fuel in every part of the country. So, it is something that we need to continue to solve and dialogue upon.

I know there is a need for a lot of bypass roads on the Ojo axis. We are doing roads in Mosafejo, Afromedia, and other places. We are doing inner roads in that axis so that people can indeed have relief not just on the express road. We will finish Navy Town road very soon. We are on Old Ojo Road so that we can have an alternative.

I appreciate what you have done in Epe for those of us in the real estate sector. Your video is our biggest marketing tool. But whenever I am going to Epe, it is war and it has been like that for the past two years. Anytime someone stops at Lekki axis for the traffic light, beggars will come to you. What is Lagos State's plan to reduce the number of mothers and children that are allowed to be on the road begging?

Let us be analytical about it. We have done an 18-kilometer road from Eleko Junction to Epe. We have turned two lanes into six lanes, rigid pavement, highest level of concrete. That is Phase I of the Lekki-Epe Expressway and it has been completed. Phase II starts from Eleko Junction to Ajah. The total length of the road is 33 kilometers. It is going to be six lanes and contractors are there working. The Lekki-Epe axis is the...