Sanwo-Olu’s Aides Slam Rhodes-vivour on Red Line Rail

Aides to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State have faulted claims made by the candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 governorship election in the state, Gbadebo Rhodes-vivour, on the recently inaugurated Rec Line Rail train.

Concise News reported that the train was inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu on Friday.

Reacting, Rhodes-vivour lamented that the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state turned the project into political propaganda laced with misinformation and false narratives.

He shared, “I had earlier refrained from commenting on the launch of the Lagos Red Line because I believe that with such a dire economic situation, our people deserve something to cheer on and to remain hopeful. Unfortunately, the APC has turned what was supposed to be a people-centric project into political propaganda laced with misinformation and false narratives. Therefore, I’m compelled to set the record straight.

“The fact is that the Lagos part of the standard gauge railway was first laid 125 years ago in 1898 from Lagos to Abeokuta before being extended to Kano. It remained a narrow gauge line from Iddo or Apapa to Agbado/Ijoko to Abeokuta for over a hundred years until the Jonathan Goodluck government in 2012 signed a contract with the Chinese to upgrade it to a standard gauge railway from Lagos to Ibadan.

“By 2013, there were already trains between Iddo/Apapa to Agbado/Ijoko with new coaches. Thereafter the Lagos state government approached the Federal government to use the federal line and instead of buying new railcars with guarantees, they bought two railcars that had been abandoned for 11yrs in Wisconsin State, USA for an undisclosed amount (of course, you know what that means).

“Also worth mentioning is that despite the series of false claims by the Lagos state government, the signal office, for instance, will be staffed and paid by the federal government. They claim that they laid 5km of rail to connect the Federal government line to Marina when in fact it is part of the Blue line from National Theatre/Ijora to Marina metro line, whereby passengers will switch lines where they intersect, and not a continuation of the standard gauge line as falsely portrayed.

“Everything from lines to stations to signals and bridges or tunnels had been costed and paid for by the Jonathan Goodluck administration since 2013. Hence, the most significant contribution of the Lagos state government to this project is the purchase of 11-year-old abandoned railcars at undisclosed fees. To be fair also, they put in quite some work in project supervision and collaboration with the federal government. For this, they deserve some commendation.

“Most importantly, citizens must realize that while it is important to acknowledge and even applaud transformational policy initiatives by the government, they must never forget that the government and the initiatives are funded by their taxes and commonwealth. They were elected to serve you and never to lord over you.”

In response, the Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on Media, Jibril Gawat, faulted the Rhodes-vivour’s claim that everything from lines to stations to signals and bridges or tunnels had been costed and paid for by the President Jonathan Goodluck administration since 2013.

He wrote, “Man doesn’t know the difference between FG Stations (named after people) and Red Line Stations (named after the areas).

‘The idea of kickstarting Red Line Rail started under Former President Buhari’s 2nd Term when Governor @jidesanwoolu got in and groundbreaking done on 15th April 2021.

“All compensations along the corridor paid by the STATE GOVERNMENT. NRC Ikeja Staff quarters demolished and rebuilt in Agege by the STATE GOVERNMENT. You can show us evidence of Jonathan doing anything on the Red Line Rail.”

On his part, the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Gboyega Akosile, accused Rhodes-vivour of being ignorant.

He shared, “Really? Please who would save our brother from his further deep dive into political oblivion, due primarily to lack knowledge, his acute shortage of intellectual depth to match the fast pace movements of the current handlers of Lagos State? For your information @GRVlagos, there’s absolutely nothing new in some of your assertions here-we have told Lagosians times without number that the Red Line is sitting on the existing NRC-FGN facility, carefully thought out and ingeniously executed by a thinking Govt. But I’d advise that you stay away from further exposing your high level ignorance and misunderstanding of how government functions. If you need further information on the level of investment by the Governor @jidesanwoolu’s administration in the widely celebrated and internationally acclaimed project, kindly write to us. Stop misinforming your followers.

“Finally, may I remind you that handling and running the affairs of over 22 million people with the size of an economy like Lagos is not for political and/or administrative neophytes. Enjoy your evening.”