President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday inaugurated the first phase of the Lagos State Blue Rail Line.
Buhari also took a ride from the Marina Station to the National Arts Theatre Station with the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat.
Others who were part of the train ride include President of China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), Chen Sichang, some federal and Lagos state legislators and members of the Lagos executive council.
The Lagos state governor, Sanwo-Olu in his remarks thanked the President for visiting the state to inaugurate the project and others,
Sanwu-Olu told the President who also witnessed the signing of the contract for the second phase of the blue rail project that the state government has not received any support for projects from the federal government since 1999.
The governor told the President that the state government would still invite him to inaugurate another project , the Red Line before the end of the administration.
He described the Red Line as the biggest rail project compared to the blue rail line.
The governor was full of tribute to the Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) , Bola Ahmed Tinubu who he described as the architect of modern Lagos.
The governor said, ‘‘This iconic Marina Station would be the largest and busiest in Africa. It has the capacity to process about 450 passengers per minute, meaning that in an hour this station can process about 250,000 passengers.
“This Blue Line we are commissioning today is the product of his timeless vision for Lagos State, a vision that dates back almost 25 years, when he took over the reins of leadership in Lagos State.
“One of his greatest legacies was developing a comprehensive roadmap for the future of Lagos State; one that laid out very clearly the pathway to a modern, prosperous, and globally competitive megacity
“Over the years the journey has been eventful, and many challenges have been surmounted, including a lack of support and cooperation from the Peoples Democratic Party, when they were in power. It is not a secret that the only ambition of that party was to capture Lagos, not to support progress and development.
“They made this clear in very many ways, including the unconstitutional withholding of critical funds, and brazen attempts to manipulate elections. To his eternal credit, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu stood his ground, and never backed down, setting out an excellent example for all of us, his successors, on the importance of believing in a vision and holding firmly to it at all times.”
