Sanwo-Olu Blames Goodluck Jonathan for Light Rail Project Delay

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Governor of Lagos State has blamed the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua’ and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administrations for the delayed take-off of the state’s light rail project.

The Lagos light rail project was conceptualized by former Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration in 2007.

The late Yar’dua, who assumed office in 2007, died on May 5, 2010.

Yar’Adua’s successor, Jonathan, was in office till 2015.

Sanwo-Olu, who stated made when he featured in a Channels Television programme, Sunday Politics, said the Federal Government at the time refused to grant the state government the right of way for the construction of the light rail.

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 Metta all the way to Agbado which was where we all grew up, that rail corridor.

“When I was in BRF’s (Fashola) government, we never actually started 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.”

The governor also revealed that the state government’s rail projects would gulp over ₦100 billion.

Sanwo-Olu added: “It is a lot of money, it is well over N100 billion.

“I don’t criticise my predecessors but indeed for whatever planning or reasons, he never funded it.

“When we came back last two years, the contractor has since moved from about 55 percent to about 93 percent in terms of the physical construction of phase 1.”