TUC Backs Lagos Modern Transportation System
The Lagos State council of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has thrown its weight behind efforts being made by the Lagos State to transform its transportation system.
The congress in a statement signed the TUC State chairman, Comrade Francis Ogunremi made available to journalists called on Lagos State Governor Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode to provide an alternative for the commercial drivers after removing yellow buses from the Lagos roads.
TUC said while they welcome the current effort of Lagos State Government to modernize the transport sector through the current road construction efforts, the Congress is of the opinion that there should be plan B for those drivers for them not to constitute nuisance into the society.
“We have our concerns and fears about the half baked and unscientific approach of removing yellow buses from major highways as announced recently.
“First, if the state government must remove the yellow buses from the highways for the good of Lagos; it must, by the same logic, work out an alternative arrangement for the over 100,000 citizens of the state, whose income and livelihood depend on these same yellow buses about to be phased out.
“However, the proposed introduction of new state of art buses must go through a very transparent arrangement, for transport companies to offer their services to commuters in the mega city of Lagos. Or better still, for the state government to set up its own publicly owned Lagos Mega city transport company, to dominate this sector as a social corporation and bring in hundreds of millions of naira per day into the treasury of government just like Ethiopian Airline, for instance.
“They would have enabled the state government to pursue a far more ambitious development projects in such neglected sectors, such as; agriculture, fishing, industries, power generation, real estates, ultra modern market, shipping, aviation, etc all of which cannot just be left for the financial gains of the private sector, or even foreign investors. It certainly should not be an arrangement for some cabals, to promote their personal aggrandizement at the expense of over 20 million citizens; using the agency of the State Government”, they said.
