The Ogun State Government and the UK Government formally flagged off the execution of collaboration in developing public transportation infrastructure in the Gateway State.
Representing the OGSG is the Ministry of Transportation while the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (UKFCDO) and the United KingdomNigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF) are counterpart partners, respectively.
The Kick-Off meeting was held at the Ministry of Transportation head office, Abeokuta, and representatives of both governments were present in virtual and physical attendance.
According to Engr. Gbenga Dairo, Ogun State Commissionerfor Transportation “Our state is under pressure from rapid urbanization, particularly in the South, where unplanned urban development is being experienced due to the spill-over of the Lagos Mega City. The greater part of our urban population is now concentrated in this region, leading to a decrease in service provision, and infrastructure, and a lack of efficient transportation systems for the sprawling and scattered population. These issues are particularly evident along the Lagos–Ibadan corridor, resulting in inefficient, low-quality strip development alongside main arterial routes, including the A5 Lagos – Abeokuta Expressway, E1 Lagos –Ibadan Expressway, and A1 Ikorodu – Sagamu Road. contributing to increased congestion along these routes, ever-increasing journey times, and environmental degradation.From the onset of the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun, public transportation has received the necessary critical evaluation to seek sustainable solutions and with this partnership, we are set to correct the errors of the past”.
The partnership will see the FCDO and UKNIAF providing necessary advisory to the MoT especially in the conceptualization, design, and execution of environment-friendly, sustainable modern transportation infrastructure to meet the rapidly growing needs of the population. This will involve introducing Bus Mass Transit equipment, operations,and infrastructure along the identified routes and corridors. These discussions, ongoing since 2020 were partly responsible for Ogun State being the first state in Nigeria to acquire and deploy converted CNG mass transit buses that were launched on Monday 30th October by Governor Dapo Abiodun.
The state government had adopted alternative energy means of public transport as a critical component of the transport strategy well before the crises created by the removal of petrol subsidy by the federal government in May this year.
Lead consultant to UKFCDO/UKNIAF, Mr. Kayode Khalidson revealed that as part of the working agreement, four highly skilled, locally sourced consultants will be embedded in the MoT to work with the ministry’s technocratsin a collaboration that is expected to ensure the achievement of set goals and objectives.
This collaboration will eventually also lead to the establishment of a full-fledged Transport Authority that will oversee the implementation of the government’s transportation imperatives for Ogun State.
