Restriction: LAGBUS Franchisee begs Ambode to save their investment

LAGBUS Franchisee Forum, operators of high-capacity red buses in Lagos on Monday appealed to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to save their investment from ruin following government’s prohibition of their services on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor.

The chairman of the forum, Mr Role Odukale, made the appeal at a news conference in Lagos.

Odukale, who spoke on behalf the 17 operators of LAGBUS franchisee, said the development would not only kill their business, but also bring hardship to residents of the state.

“For us, it is the people that will suffer as evident today across bus stops in Lagos. This situation will add to our woes, we will not be able to meet up with our bank obligations because we borrowed money from banks.

“What this means is that few buses will be available to serve over 20 million residents of the state. It is important to know that about 5, 000 people we engage in our services will lose their jobs. This directive should be reversed.

“The step taken by the government to restrict red buses from plying the BRT corridor will bring monopoly into the system, which can lead to exploitation.

Our investment is huge, let the government save our businesses and the people.

“None of us has less than 20 buses and a depot each, no one has invested less than N300 million. More than N5 billion investment is in danger. We have about 1,200 buses in this investment.”

The chairman said that the restriction would also affect foreign investment into the country, adding LAGBUS operation was just like a social services to the people.

“We started operations since February 2007 and we maintained the same fare up till date in spite of the increase in the prices of diesel and maintenance. We also use our buses to carry people free at every festive season.

“We also pay royalty on every passenger to the state government in advance, even before picking the passengers. What we are doing is more or less a social service,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government on Monday commenced restriction of LAGBUS branded buses from plying the BRT dedicated corridor along the Ikorodu-CMS route.

Comments

Omagbemi frees Angels, Queens for Fed Cup final

Super Falcons’ Head Coach, Florence Omagbemi, has elected to release players of Rivers Angels and Bayelsa Queens in the Senior Women National Team camp for Sunday’s potentially explosive women Federation Cup final between both teams in Lagos. Omagbemi The member of FIFA Technical Study said the ladies would be allowed to leave the team’s camp in Abuja to travel to Lagos for the big clash, which starts at 1pm at the Teslim Balogun Stadium on Sunday. That decision has freed Angels’ half dozen of goalkeeper Ibubeleye Whyte, defenders Osinachi Ohale, Ugo Njoku and Gladys Akpa and midfielders Chioma Wogu and Glory Iroka to be part of the glamour event, to be attended by the Governors of Lagos, Anambra, Nasarawa, Bayelsa and Rivers States. Bayelsa Queens’ duo of goalkeeper Alaba Jonathan and playmaker Osarenoma Igbinovia will also be on duty. The involvement of the Super Falcons’ stars will certainly boost the quality of the final match, and ensure the two teams do not miss their Falco...

Supreme Court doesn’t need 21 justices – CJN

The acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, has said appointing more judges or increasing the number of courtrooms are not the solutions to the problem of delayed justice dispensation in the country. The acting CJN said the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court would remain congested so long as the number of appeals proceeding there from the high courts was not regulated. Justice Onnoghen also argued that it was erroneous to believe that delay at the Supreme Court was as a result of not having up to 21 Justices prescribed by the constitution. He noted hat even the United States of America, with a higher population, had only nine Supreme Court Justices. He argued that the current 17 Justices on the Supreme Court bench were just enough for the country, if the number of appeals proceeding to the appellate and apex courts was regulated. Justice Onnoghen made this argument on Monday in Lagos while inaugurating the newly refurbished building of the Lagos Division o...

Trump ex-aide Paul Manafort 'offered to help Putin'

US President Donald Trump's one-time campaign chairman secretly worked for a Russian billionaire to assist President Vladimir Putin, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reports. Paul Manafort is said to have proposed a strategy to nullify anti-Russian opposition across former Soviet republics a decade ago. AP says documents and interviews support its claims about Mr Manafort. Mr Manafort has insisted that he never worked for Russian interests. He worked as Mr Trump's unpaid campaign chairman from March until August last year, including the period during which the flamboyant New York billionaire clinched the Republican nomination. He resigned after AP revealed that he had co-ordinated a secret Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine's ruling pro-Russian political party until 2014. Newly obtained business records link Mr Manafort more directly to Mr Putin's interests in the region, AP says. Donald Trump unpaid Campaign Chairman It ...

Welcome to EagleWatch

Search This Blog