UPDATE: PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU INAUGURATES LAGOS RED LINE RAIL
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President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the 37-kilometer Lagos Mass Transit red line on Thursday.
During the inauguration, the president vowed to fight corruption to run, while adding that Nigerians must have access to multiple mode of transportation in the country.
In inaugurating the project, the President reiterated his administration’s commitment in improving on the nation’s infrastructural development.
He also said there is no going back on the reforms embarked upon by his government that have led to the hike of essential goods and services.
“But this revolution that has started, this reform that is ongoing, we are not looking back. The engineering, the construction, the affirmation of our pledge to be loyal to our country. There is one thing I know is that there is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
After coming to office last year President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ended a fuel subsidy and currency controls, leading to a tripling of petrol prices and a spike in living costs as the naira has slid against the dollar.
The country’s inflation rate reached almost 30 per cent in January, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The President admitted that while the current administration makes an effort to fight corruption, the scourge will fight back.
He said, “We said we can do it, you believed in us. We said the people’s lives will end up being better, you believed in us. I could hear a lot of voices right now, I asked for this job, I cannot complain, it’s all about democracy.
“I agree smugglers will fight back, corruption will fight back. We will fight them to ruin. Corruption will go away, save the money for you to educate our children, to pay for the healthcare system of our people, to pay for the modern transportation system that works for highest number of people, not those few smugglers.”
He however, urged the organised Labour unions to maintain peace across the country
The red line will share the right-of-way with the Lagos-Kano Standard Gauge Railway. The route will initially run from Agbado in Ogun State to Oyingbo in Lagos, with notable stations including Agbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba, and Oyingbo.
The 37-kilometer Red Line rail project would connect Agbado, Ogun State, with Marina. Along the way, there will be 13 stations along the way, including Agbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, MMIA International, MMIA Domestic, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba, Ebute meta, Iddo, Ebute Ero, and Marina.
It is anticipated that it will enable 37 journeys every day, carrying about 500,000 passengers.
The Red Line will use a diesel-powered system called the Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU), in contrast to the Blue Line’s electric power. Opening day for The Blue Line was September 4, 2023.
The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) is in charge of overseeing the rail system.
The Greater Lagos Urban Transportation Project’s initial cost estimates for the Red Line project were $135 million. But according to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the total cost of the Blue and Red Lines would be more than N100 billion. China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) was in charge of the project’s construction.
Alhaji Lateef Jakande, during the Second Nigerian Republic, dreamt of the Lagos Metroline network in 1983, which marked the beginning of the notion of building fast transit in the state of Lagos.
At a cost to state taxpayers of more than $78 million, Muhammadu Buhari abandoned the original Metroline project in 1985.
Nonetheless, the rail system for Lagos State was revitalised in 2003 by then-governor Bola Tinubu, who made a public statement about its development.
Following the commissioning, Tinubu will leave Lagos at the invitation of His Highness, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar, to embark on a two-day official visit.
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