21st March 2020
Dear Customers and Staff,
The world is fully awake to the reality that Corona Virus (COVID-19) has been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be a Global Pandemic, owing to its fast spread across the continents. We extend our deepest sympathies to families who have lost loved ones and we wish all those infected a quick and smooth recovery.
As you know, Nigeria is not insulated from the effects of this virus as there have been 12 confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded in Lagos State alone. We would like to firstly commend the Ministry of Health and the Lagos State Government under the leadership of the Incident Commander, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for all their efforts in making the safety of Lagosians top priority. For us at Primero, the safety of our customers and staff is very important to us because we recognize that the service we offer forms an essential part of driving the economy of the State.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization released guidelines to help curb the spread of the virus. Lagos State Government, in response, issued its own directives aimed at ensuring public safety. We at Primero, are alert and closely monitoring developments and are aligning with and obeying all directives issued by our Government, National Health Agencies and Global Health Bodies. As we continue to ensure there are no disruptions in our service delivery, we have also put in place some precautionary measures to safeguard our customers and staff. These include disinfecting all of our buses daily before they commence operations making them devoid of any germs or virus whatsoever.
Our bus drivers, inspectors and ticketing officers will be required to wear protective masks and gloves. In addition, prior to commencing operations, temperatures of each staff will be checked with a digital hand thermometer. Any staff found with above normal temperatures will be asked to get a medical clearance before they can return to work.
The Lagos State Government has also placed a restriction on the number of persons gathering in public spaces to 50 people at any given time to control and curb the spread of the virus. In compliance with this, we have reduced the maximum number of customers allowed on the bus to 50 or less. This translates to 42 passengers seating and 8 standing. We are appealing to all our commuters to work with our staff and cooperate with our ticketers to ensure that we keep the passenger numbers at the recommended limits. With the sheer amount of people at the bus shelters at any one time, we have begun discussions with Lagos State to have the bus shelters disinfected daily. It is our hope that we come to some form of agreement soon so we can commence.
The safety of our customers and our staff would require our collective effort, collaboration and patience. We recognize that some of these measures may reduce the overall number of buses available for service, but we believe that these are necessary measures to ensure the safety of all concerned. It goes without saying that the real heroes of the day therefore are our bus drivers, inspectors, ticketers and other ground personnel. These men and women work tirelessly ensuring that Primero buses are up, running and available to provide the much-needed service. To these men and women, and for their selfless dedication and service, we at Primero say a heartfelt “Thank you”.
We would also like to extend our gratitude to our partners who immediately accepted the opportunity to collaborate with us in ensuring the safety of our customers and staff. At a time like this, we know we cannot do it alone. If we are to win in this war against the spread of the Corona Virus, we must do it together.
We once again thank all our customers, staff and stakeholders for their understanding and support during this very challenging time. We will continue to provide you with any further updates that arise in line with our commitment to keep Lagos safe and we ask that you please be careful out there.
Yours’ Sincerely,
Fola Tinubu
Managing Director Primero
