The Lagos State Government says its push to transition the transport and haulage sector to cleaner energy and safer operations is set to attract investments exceeding N50 billion.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, made this known at a stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos on Tuesday.
He said the investment projection was tied to ongoing collaborations with financial institutions and transport operators, especially in the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas vehicles.
Giwa noted that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration had intensified efforts to ease financing for operators, adding that the Presidential Initiative on CNG had already delivered 20 CNG buses to the state.
He commended the governor for the state’s sustained investment in clean energy mobility.
He said, ‘The Presidential Initiative on CNG under this administration has already delivered 20 CNG buses. In addition, we received 50-seater CNG buses, and just three months ago, three new LPC 50-seater CNG buses were handed over.
‘All these efforts have helped improve mass transit across the country. By the government’s projections, the value of the current initiatives will reach over N50 billion, reinforcing the state’s resolve to modernise transportation infrastructure’.
He also noted that the introduction of CNG buses had helped to reduce transportation costs by at least 30 per cent, significantly easing mobility challenges for commuters.
Also speaking, the Senior Special Assistant on Transportation and Logistics, Hassan Adekoya, said part of the N50 billion infrastructure push would support a safer haulage environment, including reforms aimed at reducing truck-related accidents and protecting public infrastructure.
Adekoya disclosed that the state would start phasing out old diesel trucks to pave the way for cleaner, safer and more environmentally friendly haulage operations.
‘His Excellency has approved mandatory substance-abuse tests for all truck drivers in Lagos State. Any driver diagnosed with vision impairment will be provided with government-funded corrective eyeglasses.
‘The days of container trucks collapsing on cars and causing loss of lives are over. Lagosians can go out in the morning and return home safely. That is what this administration is committed to’, he said.
The scheme, structured as an asset-purchase programme through UBA, will allow operators to acquire new trucks and repay under a structured plan.
Reacting to the initiative, the National President of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Usman Lawal, described the partnership as timely, noting that it aligns with other major projects of the Sanwo-Olu administration.
‘We value the governor’s initiatives, not just this one, but others as well, including the rail line and the food hub projects’, he said.
Similarly, the NARTO Lagos Chairman, Kayode Okunowo, pledged the association’s support to help the government deliver a safer, more structured logistics system in the state.
