₦airaland Forum

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday took a significant step toward enhancing the State’s transportation and energy sectors, as two crucial bills – The Lagos State Railway Corporation Bill and The Ibile Energy Corporation Bill – scaled second reading during plenary.

Leading the debate on the railway bill, the Majority Leader, Hon. Noheem Adams, sponsor of the bill for a 'Law to Establish The Lagos State Railway Corporation, To Improve Railway Transportation System and For Connected Purposes', stated that the proposed legislation would make history in the State’s transportation development.

He referenced the Fifth Alteration No. 65 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which moves railway transportation from the Exclusive to the Concurrent Legislative List, thereby empowering states to legislate on the matter.

If passed, Lagos would become the first state in Nigeria to establish a Railway Corporation.

Hon. Adams highlighted the objectives and structure of the private-member bill, noting that Section 2 emphasizes the provision of effective and reliable railway services across Lagos State.

He added that Section 4 establishes a Governing Board tasked with overseeing the Corporation’s operations, while Sections 5 to 14 elaborate on the board’s powers, roles, and responsibilities.

The bill also outlines the Corporation’s powers in planning, infrastructure development, funding strategies, and ensuring transparency and accountability through proper auditing processes.

“This bill will set a standard comparable to global best practices.

“With South Africa leading in Africa with a 20,926 km railway network and Nigeria currently at 3,798 km, Lagos – as Africa’s second-largest city economy after Cairo – must take the lead in innovative rail transport solutions," Hon. Adams said.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, while commending the sponsor and reiterating the essence of the bill, noted that the global trend is toward deregulation and privatization of public corporations.

“Governments are embracing partnerships and privatization to enhance efficiency. We must consider aligning with that trend," he advised.

The bill was subsequently committed to the House Committee on Transportation, with a directive to report back in two weeks.

The Speaker also committed the Energy Corporation bill to the Committee on Energy with a mandate to report back to the House in two weeks.

Image123:
While Lagos is working, albeit slow,others are sleeping and sulking at the FG's door. When Lagos starts to generate same energy as FG, some people will start gnashing teeth and crying marginalization. Everyone got the get set go on the electricity bill at the same time but they don't seem to know what to do with it yet. Waiting for the smart student Lagos to start first, then they copy and complain about how Tinubu used nepotism to increase Lagos electricity.

nwirinedu:
South Africa is a long way ahead of Nigeria, their railways rn across the country, we dont have that in Nigeria.

There are no railway tracks linking Lagos with the South or eastern part of the country, all tracks run from the North only, there is no point setting up a railway service if the Ikorodu to Island track is the only route available.

Tenisam:
did you say there's no railways running from Lagos to southern part? where did you get your info from ?
what happened to the train that goes from Lagos through Ogun to Ibadan everyday ? and there's no train service to Ikorodu yet. una go just dey talk 🗑. goan verify your info before posting on the internet

nwirinedu:
Is Ibadan and Ogun located in the southern part of Nigeria?

Are they not just neihgboring states to Lagos, 30minutes or less of driving by road? Try to leave the house sometimes and travel to other regions of the country.

Dont spend your entire 70 years in Lagos.