The Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Jumoke Akinjide, says the people of Lagos State should blame the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) for the heavy traffic motorists face every day.
She said when Buhari was the Head of State between December 1983 and August 1985, he terminated the Lagos Metroline project initiated by the Alhaji Lateef Jakande administration to ease traffic in the metropolis.
Akinjide said this in a statement on Monday.
She said by so doing, Buhari truncated the opportunity of a free-flow of traffic within the metropolis and by extension, the economic growth of the South-West.
She said the countries that were nowhere near the growth attained by the South-West when the APC presidential candidate stopped Metroline project had since advanced to become world economic powers.
She said the Lagos metro rail line was designed by the Jakande government to facilitate transport within Lagos and its surroundings but was terminated when Buhari military regime took over.
She said, “The visionary Jakande administration had concluded all the plans to finance the project, putting everything in place for its successful execution. My father provided the legal frame work in his capacity as the Attorney General at the time, and the state government had deposited $50m after securing a $450m loan at six per cent fixed interest rate for 25 years.”
Jumoke Akinjide,tell your oga Goodluck to complete the truncated metroline if you believe in continuity.stop shifting blames.what have you done in your capacity s FCT minister of state?
Still, the metroline would have made a big difference in alleviating the traffic mess in Lagos because of mass movement of people. How are we sure Buhari won’t come with such flippant and ill – advised spontaneous decisions again. GEJ has disappointed big time but should we jump from the frying pan into the fire?
Lagos traffic is mainly caused by poor urban town planning.
Even if the metroline is in place, the way and manner business houses are being established and erected in places like Ikoyi and Victoria Island axis which is supposed to be residential areas,not much of the traffic wahala would be eased.