The Governor of Lagos Temporarily suspends his reelection Campaign after a bus collides with a train in Nigeria
The governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has suspended his reelection campaign temporarily following a fatal accident in the country’s commercial center on Thursday. A train collided with a public bus, resulting in the deaths of six people and leaving dozens injured
According to a statement from the Lagos state emergency services, the incident occurred at a bus stop in the Ikeja neighborhood of Lagos, which is home to approximately 20 million people
Sanwo-Olu tweeted Thursday that 85 passengers comprising state workers were aboard the bus
“Lagos is in a state of mourning and for the next 3 days, I am suspending all campaign activities. All flags will be flown at half mast and tomorrow all civil servants will work till 12 noon before returning home to be with their loved ones during this trying time,” the governor further said in a series of tweets while calling for blood donations to treat the injured
The country’s President Muhammadu Buhari described the accident as “distressing and extremely sad,” in a statement on Thursday
Security guard Ubong Okon observed the aftermath of the collision that occurred between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. local time (0600 to 0700 GMT). President Buhari expressed his condolences for the accident at the level crossing, which involved a train and a BRT staff bus, and hoped for the quick recovery of the injured. He also praised the Lagos authorities for their swift intervention at the scene of the accident.
“I came out to open the gate, then I saw the train and the bus, I looked inside the bus, there were lots of passengers inside, I went inside and saw people with injuries, there was blood everywhere, then I started to help get people inside the bus out.”
Traffic jams are part of daily life in Lagos, where most people drive with little regard for road and safety rules
In Africa’s most populous nation, many roads are poorly maintained and riven with potholes, leading to accidents that claim thousands of lives every year
Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said in a statement that he has directed Nigeria’s safety investigation agency to look into the cause of the accident