Sanwo-Olu takes shine off Ambode as Lagos tees-off Oshodi Transport Interchange first commissioned in 2019

No fewer than 100 commuter buses loaded inter-state passengers in the newly-commissioned Oshodi Transport Interchange Terminal 1 in Lagos on Sept. 1.

The transport hub was commissioned in the dying days of ex-Gov Akinwunmi Ambode amidst political bitterness in 2019.  He invited President Muhammadu Buhari—against the wish of the strong man of the APC, Bola Tinubu who was absent—for the commissioning of the uncompleted project.

In the Tuesday flag-off ceremony attended by the officials of the present administration, Lagos Commissioner for Transportation Dr. Frederic Oladeinde urged Nigerians to take ownership of the facilities at the terminal.

He said the Terminal 1 would be the hub for inter-state transportation , with 21 ticketing booths for 21 destinations covering the entire southwest, the southeast, FCT, Abuja, and northern states.

Through the Oluwatoyin Fayinka, special adviser (Transportation) to Governor Babjide Sanwo Olu, Oladehinde described the OTI as the first of its kind in Nigeria.

The first-rate facility was contracted out to Planet Project which delivered it in three years.

Present there was also the representative of the Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Comrade Musiliu Akinsanya (aka MC Oluomo)/

Commending the state government, Oluomo, represented by the Mushin branch chairman John Owolabi appreciated the opportunity the union has to also operate there.

He assured the government of the readiness of all members of the transport unions to continue to support the transportation reform initiatives of the government.

Inter-state passengers from any part of the stat can access the terminals, which have a combined capacity of 50000 daily, and board buses to their destinations, according to First Planet MD Biodun Otunola.

Oshodi was the hottest spot in Lagos in the 90s and I the mid-2000s.