Why I cancelled Lagos metroline project – Buhari

Posted by admin Lagos, State News, Top Stories Thursday, April 7th, 2011

The presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, has said he cancelled the proposed Lagos metro rail line project that was initiated by the government of Alhaji Lateef Jakande because he did not want to take more loans or devalue the naira.

The Lagos metro rail line was designed by the Jakande government to facilitate transportation within Lagos and surroundings but was terminated when Buhari military regime took over in December, I983.

Buhari, while speaking in Lagos on Wednesday at the presentation of his party manifesto, said when he got into power, the relatively stable economy, which was handed over to the government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, had been badly plundered and corruption was rife in every sector. He added that the rail line project was meant to cost N100m, which was a large sum of money then, and the Federal Government was asked to guarantee the loan meant for the project.

He said, “Then, we didn’t know how much debt was on us as a nation and we felt that we should not add another N100m to it. I had to set up two committees to assess how much we owed and we promised not to take more loans or to devalue the naira but to develop the economy.”

Buhari argued that tagging him an enemy of Lagos State because he cancelled that project was mischievous and unfair, stating that the first one billion naira he spent when he was heading Petroleum Trust Fund was on Victoria Island and Ikoyi waterworks in Lagos.

Earlier, in Ikoyi, while meeting with the youth Buhari told them it was important to vote wisely as their choice will affect their generations more than his.

His running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, who presented the party manifesto, said God raised Buhari for Nigeria. Bakare said that within the first 100 days in office, Nigerians would begin to feel their impact. He said their party symbol was a pen because they would use it to rewrite the history of Nigeria and that after their tenure, there would be no more military intervention in Nigeria forever.

“We will begin by initiating action with the legislature so that true federalism can be entrenched in Nigeria at all levels. We call our country Federal Republic of Nigeria but we are neither a federation nor a republic. We have a lopsided government where everything reflects round the centre but we will push for true federalism in which we will have strong local governments, strong states and strong Federal Government. We will address our crippling economy by bringing in the best brains both at home and abroad. For too long, we have left politics and governance to the clueless but we want to attract the best and brightest to our government.”

Bakare also said they would be working with the legislature to expunge the immunity clause that shields the public officers from prosecution. On issues of security, Bakare said that they would have both state and community policing system with laws put in place to prevent their abuse by power drunk tyrants.

The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, said since they left office in 2007, the nation’s wealth had been plundered.

-Sunwp_posts