We will remodel danfo buses, not scrap them – Sanwo-Olu

Lagos State Government will not scrap the yellow buses popularly known as ‘danfo’, but remodel them to meet modern standards, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said.

He stated this when he featured on a Channels Television programme on Sunday.

Sanwo-Olu said it would not be fair to scrap the ‘danfo’, adding that they had served Lagos residents for a long time.

He said, “It will be unfair for us. These (their operators) are important stakeholders. They served our citizens. They served Lagosians for a long time. It became the print of Lagos, the yellow buses.

“Let’s be very creative. Let’s see how we can remodel them without scrapping them. We are collaborating with them. You know that our citizens now deserve newer models of cars.”

The governor also said the state had signed an agreement with a local bus manufacturing company to replace buses burnt during the #EndSARS protest.

He said although the buses were insured, the insurance did not cover such “unforeseen circumstances”.

Sanwo-Olu said, “We are trying to replenish them, we have started the compensation and the interesting thing is that we are working with a local bus manufacturing company.

“And it is going to come almost with the same specifications of the ones that were unfortunately destroyed so that Lagosians can have the same feel of the buses. They were insured. Insurance will never cover you 100 per cent.”

Speaking on transportation in the state, Sanwo-Olu said a mega city like Lagos should not make use of one mode of transportation, adding that his administration was working towards exploring other options.

He said, “One-third of Lagos is water. That is natural. It will be unfair on us not to utilise that opportunity. Lagos in terms of area is also even below the sea level.

“About 33 per cent of our landmass is water. We need to create that infrastructure. The infrastructure for water is terminal.”

The governor also spoke on the construction of light rail in the state, saying the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the federal level did not back the project when it was initiated.

The governor said his administration was determined to construct the red and blue light rail lines across the state.

He said, “Lagos was not with the Federal Government at that time so the PDP government never gave Lagos the right of way from the red line now which is from Oyingbo, Ebute Meta all the way to Agbado, which was where we all grew up, that rail corridor.

 “When I was in the BRF’s government, we never actually started the red line then. It was the blue line that we started in 2010. If we step back then, you remember we have always had that rail corridor.

“So the Federal Government never gave us that opportunity to be able to do the red line then. So it is just now that we are doing the red line.”