MORE than 40,000 mass transit buses currently plying Lagos roads are to be phased out under the ongoing transportation programme of the state government.

The state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who gave the hint on Friday at the Government House, Ikeja, said the vehicles would be replaced with modern ones that befit the metropolis.

The governor spoke when he received the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Mitchell Dumound.

He said business partnerships between Nigerian and local entrepreneurs had been successfully carried out in the telecommunication sector with over 35 million subscribers base presently and an additional two new entrants to the sector this year.

He added that the average investor in Nigeria in the last nine years had reaped bountifully as the returns on investment had been higher that what anyone could get elsewhere.

He said: “With 18 million people by a seaport, Lagos is a dream location for international business. We have taken advantage of this with our Free Trade Zone where we are already responding to request for land and built up factories and refineries.”

He pledged his readiness to continue to work together with the French Government in the collective interest of the earth which is getting smaller and smaller on the issue of the planet, environment, renewable energy, carbon emission and other areas where structured partnership could be engaged in.

He commended President Sarkozy for promoting mature and peaceful stance of stabilising global polity.

The French Ambassador had acknowledged the progress being made by the government in improving the lives of the people of Lagos especially in the field of sanitation and an improvement of the aesthetics of the state.

He said that he had also seen the success being made out of public transportation business especially the BRT and how the dedicated lane had been respected by the members of the public.

He expressed appreciation for the efforts being made in the field of security of lives and property, saying French citizens were happy to be here in Lagos.

He promised to work towards ensuring that businessmen from France took advantage of the business opportunities offered by Lagos to bring their businesses here.

He lamented that despite the fact that France were one of the leading economic partners of Nigeria in the sub Saharan Africa, no economic relationship existed between local governments in France and their Nigerian counterparts, promising to assist in this regard

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