By: Bola Badmus- Lagos
Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday, announced measures to cushion the effects of artificial fuel scarcity across the state as well as current scarcity, occasioned by naira swap by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Governor Sanwo-Olu rolled out the measures during a media briefing on the State of the Nation, which took place at Lagos House, Marina.
The governor, who commended residents for keeping calm even in the face of “unfortunate hardship” due to the scarcity and resilience, explained that the measures, which include suspension of on-going construction of roads along Tank Farms at Ijegun-Egba area to allow for seamless movement of petroleum tankers for easy distribution of products, became necessary to ameliorate the situation among vulnerable in the state.
Besides, the governor directed gas stations to operate on 24-hour basis daily with adequate security protection with the view to record remarkable improvement in fuel distribution to reduce long queues and the usual rush at the stations.
He said with effect from Thursday, all public transportation in the state, including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), LagRide, LagFerry, LAST-MILE, among others, has been directed to charge 50 per cent of current fares from passengers through the use of cowrie card.
The governor equally disclosed that food banks had been set up in some identified locations in the state for distribution of food items to the vulnerable which would be distributed through leaders of Community Development Associations (CDAs), religious bodies, ethnic groups, among others, saying that the measures would be reviewed on 24hourly basis as the situation demands.
Details later…
