• Holds light train talks with NRC, LASG

A new transportation plan for Ogun State that will involve bus mass transit service starting next month (May) and a light train system has been unfolded.

The state governor, Dapo Abiodun, who rolled out the plan, said while work had almost been concluded on the bus service, his administration had commenced discussions on the light rail system with the Nigerian Railway Corporation and the Lagos State Government.

He spoke in Abeokuta, the state capital, while receiving two reports on the transportation sector named ‘Abeokuta Urban Transport Policy’ from the Head, United Kingdom Prosperity Fund, Nigeria Office, Miss Martha Bostock, and ‘The Strategic Transport Intervention Plan for Ogun State’ prepared by the Ogun State Transport Steering Committee headed by the state’s Commissioner for Transportation, Gbenga Dairo, with the support of the Department of Transport Planning and Management, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye.

The governor noted that the Bus Mass Transit was conceptualised to improve quality of life by reducing travel time; improving local air quality; curbing greenhouse gas emissions, and preventing road fatalities and crashes.

Abiodun reiterated that the present administration was poised towards achieving an effective multimodal transportation system, adding that the state government had embarked on various strategies in achieving effective transportation system by rehabilitating both urban and rural roads.

He further stated that the inauguration of the Ogun State Bus Mass Transit Scheme would commence in May.

The light rail services in the state, he added, would commence as soon as discussions had been concluded with the Nigerian Railway Corporation and Lagos State to take full advantage of rail infrastructure within Ogun for the development of the state.

He said, “As part of government’s deliberate efforts at modernising and promoting efficiency in the transport sector, as contained in our urban renewal programme, the Ogun Bus Mass Transit, which takes off in May, is aimed at providing improved movement of people in the state. This is through a bus-based public transport system designed to have better capacity and reliability than a conventional bus system with a view to providing valuable public health benefits by reducing road fatalities, crashes and injuries; reducing personal exposure to harmful air pollutants; and increasing accessibility for public transport users.”

The governor commended the committee for painstakingly carrying out its assignment towards the growth of the state transportation sector and promised his government would ensure proper implementation of the committee’s report.

“I can assure you that we will implement the reports and will not leave them on the shelves to gather dust. I am convinced that the implementation would change the face of transportation in the state,” Abiodun added.

Earlier, the state’s Commissioner for Transportation, Dairo, had expressed optimism in the reports of the committee and the partnership with United Kingdom Prosperity Fund, which he said would facilitate considerable resource allocation and investment in the Ogun State transport sector.

Dairo revealed that Lagos (rail) Red Line from Oyingbo to Alagbodo would be extended further into Ogun, passing through Ijoko to Kajola/Ifo in Ado-Odo/Ota and Ifo Local Government areas of the state respectively.

He stressed that discussions with the NRC would not only connect the proposed Ilishan Cargo Airport with new the NRC’s Lagos to Ibadan rail and proposed NRC’s East-West rail line along Sagamu- Benin Expressway but would berth new rail stations at Ijoko, Itori, Obada-Oko, Osiele and Odeda while branch lines at Ijoko, Kajola and Papalanto would serve economic development zones at these sites.

Dairo said the inter-state BRT services would be between Sagamu-Mowe and Lagos as well as Ota and Lagos, with park and ride services on the Mowe-Ibafo-Lagos corridor, while Intercity bus mass transit services would start with a hub at Abeokuta, connecting services to Ijebu Ode, Sagamu, Ilaro and Ota.

He said, “We shall invest in both the quality and capacity of the public transport system, road and rail, in our greater push towards using public transport to ease human and cargo movement just as we seek to make public transport a choice mode for all commuters, including car owners, integrating travel information and fares as a way to better serve commuters while decisively maintaining a sustainable and high-quality living environment.”

Head of the United Kingdom Prosperity Fund, Bostock, expressed the readiness of the UK authorities to offer technical assistance to Ogun State in building capacity in its transport department for development and sustainability.

She urged the state government to initiate legislative framework that would make the project’s implementation successful and facilitate foreign support.

She said, “Future cities of Nigeria will offer technical assistance to Ogun State in building capacity within the state government’s department like the Ministry of Transportation and other relevant agencies about what a good transport policy should include.

“I like to see the policy put in place with necessary legislative action aiding the policy to be used to advertise the state to attract more investments.”

L-R: Ogun State Commissioner for Transportation, Gbenga Dairo; Head, United Kingdom Prosperity Fund, Nigeria Office, Miss Martha Bostock; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Ogun State Deputy Governor, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele; and Team Lead, Future Cities of Nigeria, Mr Kayode Khalidson, during the team’s visit to the governor. Photo: Ogun State Government