The Founder and Executive Director of the Danne Institute for Research, Professor Franca Ovadje, has said Lagos State loses about N4 trillion annually due traffic congestion problems.
Ovadje stated this while presenting the findings of their research, the Connectivity and Productivity Report at the public-private sector dialogue and virtual Transport and Traffic conference organised by the Institute in Lagos.
Ovadje said: “We found that the cost to individuals of traffic congestion is N133,978.68 per annum for those who own their vehicles and N79,039.40 each year for those who use public transport. The total loss to Lagos is estimated at 14.12 million hours per day or N3.8 trillion, per annum.”
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Commissioner for Transport, Dr. Frederick Oladeinde, said that Lagos was adopting a multi-pronged approach as the government is convinced that the state cannot spend its way out of congestion.
The President of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, urged the state to agree on an operational framework with the federal government such that some federal assets, like roads and ports that can be controlled and managed by the state to reduce congestion.