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Tag: Kayode Opeifa

  • 55% vehicles in FCT not road worthy – Official

    Mr. Kayode Opeifa, the Transportation Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration, has revealed that 55 per cent of vehicles on FCT roads are not road worthy.

    The Transportation Secretary made this known when he released motor vehicles and drivers licence statistics for the FCT for the first quarter of 2018 in Abuja on Friday.

    Opeifa said of the vehicles inspected at the Abuja Computerised Vehicles Centres, between January and April 6, only 45 per cent passed the test.

    “In order to ensure that vehicles plying the territory roads are road worthy, the secretariat has therefore directed the commencement of ‘Operation Crocodile’ to rid Abuja streets of unworthy vehicles.”

    He urged motorists who have not made their vehicles available for inspection to do so.

    “Also, within the period under review, 3,085 vehicles, 260 motorcycles, 406 tricycles, 281 unpainted taxis, were impounded for various traffic offences.

    “This is against 2,885 vehicles, 183 motorcycles, 350 tricycles and 271 unpainted taxis for the same period in 2017,’’ he added.

    He said 13,757 new vehicles were registered while 48,083 vehicle licences were renewed.

    He said that 355 vehicles abandoned, accidented, and burnt were evacuated during rescue operations.

    Opeifa noted that 18,067 drivers’ licences were processed between January and March, 2018 as against 16,668 processed in the same period in 2017.

    NAN

     

  • Residents to ride trains by December

    Residents to ride trains by December

    After years of work, the Abuja light rail will offer train rides by the Yuletide, GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

    It has taken years to achieve, but it is here, finally. By Christmas, you could walk out of the plane at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja and walk into a train that will take you straight to the business districts of the nation’s capital.

    That was the Federal Capital Territory Administration Transportation Secretary, Kayode Opeifa assuring that the Abuja Light Rail project will kick off in December.

    Okpeifa said the FCTA was committed to the rail mass transit project and will launch it at the end of the year.

    Opeifa reaffirmed the position of the administration during a familiarisation visit to the vehicle inspection office.

    He said, “Let me reiterate that the December completion target for Abuja Rail Project remains sacrosanct. From the level of work I have seen on ground, this December completion period is achievable.”

    Opeifa, who expressed satisfaction with the pace of work done so far, further disclosed that the project has attained 98 percent completion, adding that the rail project would drastically ease transportation challenges in Abuja when operational.

    “I am very much impressed with the way the project has been going. So far, the project has hit 98 percent completion rate. This is very encouraging and impressive.

    “As we all know, this project will address immensely our nagging transportation issues in and out of the city,” he disclosed.

    FCTA, he said, is working assiduously to address whatever that may constitute a challenge against the project from becoming operational in due time.

    According to the Opeifa, when the project finally takes off, it would further add to the achievements of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

    He called on Nigerians to continue to support the change agenda of the President which was hinged on making Nigeria great in the comity of nations.

    He commended the FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello for his dogged commitment to ensuring the project takes off in due time.

    “We need to commend the Minister for his courage in seeing to the timely completion of this very critical project,” he said.

    Speaking further, Okpeifa said,  “The issue of safety should be taken serious. And it is not restricted to ember months. A lot of people are driving under the influence of various things. It is more of a public enlightenment than physical presence. We are working with other agencies especially the FRSC. Our approach is to put the men on the road.

    “We are meeting the stakeholders, the unions, the motor parks, to talk to them on the safety on our roads. The roads in Abuja are good but our major problem is overspending. And it becomes so much complicated when you speed when you are drunk. We will focus on the drunk while driving.

    “The outlook is in line with the Abuja master plane. The major infrastructures have been put in place. That is the road and the rail. There is a lot of work traffic in Abuja. This administration under the minister has moved to fast track the completion of the rail project. The lot 1 and lot 3 of the rail is 98% completed and by the end of the year it will be ready for commissioning. So people can now move from the city to the airport.

    “You will agree with me that before now the Nyanya axis has been a problem. But now it is better. There is currently a taskforce handling that aspect of the road. On the issue of those who have encroached on the road, we will continue to appeal to them. It is part of our thirty days plan that the end of November we hope to improve on the travel time on that road by 20%.”

     

  • Lagos deploys 500 LASTMA officials for APC rally

    Lagos State Government has said that it will deploy 500 officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to mange vehicular traffic at Friday’s presidential campaign rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The state’s Commissioner for Transportation, Comrade Kayode Opeifa, in a statement released on Thursday, said the rally is expected to attract huge human and vehicular traffic around Lagos especially along Funsho Williams, Eko Bridge, Ikorodu Road, entire Surulere and the Teslim Balogun Stadium, venue of the rally.

    He said, “The Lagos State Government will deploy all possible traffic management measures including 500 LASTMA personnel for this particular event to ensure minimum disruption to motorists and party members coming for the rally. The early morning traffic will not be affected likewise the afternoon traffic.

    “Priority will be given to pedestrians and mass transit vehicles conveying people to the rally. Vehicular traffic (non-rally related) would be diverted from Funsho Williams at Ojuelegba towards Itire to link Ogunlana Drive to connect Eko Bridge via Bode Thomas, Eric Moore and Adelabu as at when necessary.

    “While from Eko Bridge, traffic would be diverted to Ojuelegba, Agege Motor Road and Ikorodu Road via Costain, Eric Moore, Bode Thomas, Adelabu and Ogunlana Drive, Itire Road, Mabo, Fashoro and Bishop Street all in Surulere or better still motorists are advised to use the Third Mainland Bridge.”

    He urged commuters to tune in to Lagos Traffic Radio 96.1 FM for traffic information every 15 minutes to get update on the traffic situation.

    The commissioner added: “The state government appeals for caution and cooperation from all road users by obeying all traffic regulations and ensuring traffic flow during the campaign period.

    “While regretting any inconveniences, the Lagos State Government directed all relevant traffic agencies to ensure free flow of traffic.”

     

  • White paper on boat mishap coming

    The WhitePaper on the report of the committee that probed the immediate and remote causes of the Majidun/Ikorodu boat mishap would soon be released, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation,  Mr. Kayode Opeifa, has said.

    He said the 11-man committee headed by the Director, Public Transportation and Commuter Service, Mr. Olajide Tairu, came up with ways to halt incessant boat mishaps in the state.

    Opeifa said the report would form the basis of government’s actions and policy direction in preventing a recurrence.

    He added that the committee is mandated to ascertain and determine the immediate and remote causes of the April 2, boat mishap in Ikorodu and similar boat mishaps in the past as well as ascertain and confirm details of the accident.

    “It will look into the roles of all concerned persons, institutions and agencies and make recommendations as might be considered necessary to avoid a recurrence of such incidents, promote safe practices and adherence to safety standard in water transportation in the state,” he said.

    Opeifa had previously told the Lagos State House of Assembly probe panel on the incident that the mishap occurred when the boat ran into a log in the water, which damaged the vessel and led to its sinking, adding that the incident could have been avoided if the boat driver had maintained normal speed.

    The commissioner accused some boat owners of illegally operating their vessels without official registration and licence as required by law.

    According to him, they are in the habit of overloading the boats against the stipulated number of passengers at any given time, even as some boats lack facilities such as life jackets, fire fighting equipments, security lights, especially when traveling at night and under hazardous conditions, and communications gadgets for distress calls.

  • ‘Investment in road crucial’

    ‘Investment in road crucial’

    The Lagos State government has restated the need for investment in road infrastructure to attain safe, efficient and reliable multi-modal transportation.

    The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, said at the yearly public lecture and award night of the Association of Professional Women Engineers, (APWEN), Lagos State that as an important component of the economy transportation has significant impact on the development and welfare.

    He said: “When transport systems are efficient, they provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that result in better accessibility to markets, jobs, improved logistics and additional investments.”

    Opeifa spoke on the theme: Infrastructural development in sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities amidst challenges.

    The commissioner, who praised the group for picking the theme, said the state planned its public transportation system in response to its status as the economic hub of Nigeria and West Africa, because it considered transportation as a catalyst for the huge expected economic activities.

    “Infrastructure provision remains key to an efficient transportation system and for Lagos State, it is not negotiable. Transportation itself which is the management of the free flow of people, goods and services from one point to the other  entails such modes as rail, road, water, air, telecommunications, pipeline, conveyor belt, logistics and supply chain management.

    Transportation infrastructure according to the commissioner, is not limited to just hardware such as highways, rail tracks or jetties, but the more complex arrays of logistics, software, programmes, applications and the less suspecting furniture; such as traffic signal lights (TSL), pavement markings, kerbs, medians, buoys, signals etc, that make distribution and movement more functional.

    The development of these arrays of hardware, software, complex and functional infrastructure, Opeifa reiterated, is critical to a sustainable development and the delivery of these, has become the pre-occupation of his ministry and its agencies.

    The state government, Opeifa added, regards its investments in these areas, not as challenges but opportunities that must not be missed.

    He told the women engineers that the state government in the last 16 years had invested among others; on creating segregated lanes for the BRT system, creating over 200,000 road signages, and over 100 traffic signal lights to complement traffic management, to support an integrated multi modal transport system.

    “Other infrastructure put in place by the government are the Pavement Markings of over 200 roads spanning over 202 kilometres to ensure road discipline and improved road safety, the Lagos Traffic Radio for improved road use planning, education and advocacy; School Traffic Safety Advocacy Programme (STSAP), for primary and secondary school children and the driver institute to ensure that only competent professional drivers are handling commercial public transportation, for road safety and recently the Lagos State Public Transportation System Database platform which is meant to develop proper management of the public transportation system. “We will not be fulfilled until the rail track infrastructure is delivered to move our people daily,” Opeifa said.

  • Vehicle owners’, operators’ accreditation still free, says Opeifa

    The ongoing accreditation of commercial vehicle owners and operators is still free, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation Mr. Kayode Opeifa has said.

    Opeifa while speaking in his Ikeja office, said though the accreditation ought to have come at a fee to those who are just complying, the payment was waived to enable more operators take part in the exercise.

    He said the government embarked on the exercise first, to generate an authentic database of all commercial vehicles and operators, create a platform for improved service delivery and establish a safe and secure public transport system that can be trusted by all commuters.

    Opeifa said the exercise which ought to have lasted for only two months has been ongoing in the last eight months as part of government’s commitment to ensure that the sector is made safe.

    He said: “Those registering after the commencement of the policy on July 1, ought to have paid for the documentation, but the exercise is being carried out free of charge by the Vehicle Inspection Services (VIS) and the state’s Drivers Institute (LASDRI)’’.

    Opeifa lamented that the low response by owners and operators is affecting the full implementation of the state public transportation management system that is to lead to improved efficiency and effectiveness of public transport, leading to upscale in economic growth, job and wealth creation and the promotion of a safe, reliable, efficient, sustainable and secure public transport system.

    Giving a breakdown of compliance to the new policy, the Transport Commissioner said “only 944 commercial mass transit buses; 13, 839 commercial buses, 7,092 commercial taxis, 2,194 commercial cabs (Kabu-kabu); 221 car hire vehicles and 2,169 tricycles, totaling 26,459 automotives have so far registered with more than an estimated 30,000 operators yet to comply.

    He praised the leadership of the various transport unions; especially the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Taxi Co-operatives for their co-operation and support, and urged the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and the Tricycle Operators to emulate the NURTW and Taxi Co-operatives by mobilising their members to participate en-masse in the exercise in the drive to have a dependable, predictable, reliable and sustainable transport system that would ensure good return on their investment and would also earn dignity, recognition and respect from the society.

  • Fed Govt loses N16b yearly to ports’ congestion

    Fed Govt loses N16b yearly to ports’ congestion

    The Federal Government loses $16 billion yearly in the maritime sector  as a result of unfriendly policies which hinder  the smooth clearance of cargo from the ports, a maritime expert has said.

    A consultant with Trident Plc,  Mr. Michael Ivenso, said the high level of physical inspection of goods at the ports has led to huge revenue losses to the Federal Government.

    He lamented that the dependence on trucks to move goods out of the ports should be addressed.

    He spoke at an event titled: “48 hour cargo clearance target at Nigerian Ports” organised by the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) in Lagos.

    He said: “If you don’t fix the transport system, the port will continue to remain a storage area. Nigeria loses $16billion annually for not doing what it ought to do at the port.”

    Ivenso identified some of the challenges to include shuffling of papers back and forth by Customs, the manual handling of documents and lack of infrastructures to attract the kind of investors the government desires.

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa, said maritime traffic constitutes the biggest headache for the state.

    “Congestion in Lagos alone costs $1billion every year. Out of this, maritime traffic causes over 70 percent.

    “Tin Can Port alone is 1.65 TEU container units, while at Lekki corridor, we have got 2.7TEU, which will be a challenge eventually.”

    Opeifa said the state government has resolved to look for an alternative means of transportation which is the rail and water

    According to him, the government is developing an alternative route for the movement of people and cargo within the state. The use of badges, he said, would play an important role in the system.

    Opeifa said: “How many trailers will evacuate a shipload and how many badges will evacuate a shipload? What will be the cost and benefit to the economy?

    “We have put all these in consideration and seriously speaking, we can do it. If there are countries that clear goods within six hours, why can’t we do it in 48 hours? I enjoin   all concerned to kindly allow this to happen.”

    According to him, cargoes are being diverted to Benin Republic as a result of the waiting time of vessels in Nigeria.

     

  • Govt releases new guidelines for commercial vehicle operators

    All inter city commercial passenger vehicles without the state’s number-plates will not be allowed to operate in Lagos State henceforth, the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa has said.

    At a meeting with leaders of all transport unions in his office in Lagos, he directed security agencies to apprehend vehicles that flout the order.

    He said all commercial passenger vehicles, yellow buses, danfo, taxis and tricycles not yet registered on the state’s data base as licensed commercial passenger vehicles, would no longer operate in the state.

    Opeifa advised operators that wish to continue their business to either comply or move elsewhere.

    This, according to him, is not only to ensure safety of road users, but a continuation of the implementation of the state’s transport management system policy.

    The commissioner added that all commercial passenger vehicles also not painted in the state approved yellow colour with black stripes would not be allowed to operate in any motor parks, garages or on the roads.

    Opeifa tasked leaders of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RETEAN), Tricycle Workers Association of Nigeria (TWAN) and Taxis operators to ensure strict compliance with the directive, adding that LASTMA, VIS and the Police have been directed to demand for all necessary documents from the operators and violators would be penalised in accordance with the law.

    He advised owners of vehicles who are yet to comply with the state commercial passenger’s vehicles accreditation to go to any of the 21 Vehicle Inspection Service Offices in the state with their vehicles for documentation.

    The commissioner also urged drivers and conductors who have not visited any of the five centres of the Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI), for their documentation to do so or risk sanction if caught.

    The Lagos State government began    commercial passenger vehicles documentation on November 1, last year.

  • Boat mishap survivor protests in Lagos

    Boat mishap survivor protests in Lagos

    ‘Two million passengers ply waterways monthly’

    One of the survivors of the April 2 boat mishap at the Majidun River in Ikorodu on the outskirt of Lagos, Mobolaji Raimi, yesterday protested to the state House of Assembly.

    Joined by members of a group, “Safety of Ferry Passengers on the Waterways,” in the peaceful march, Raimi described the incident as traumatic. “The boat left Ebute Ero around 5.30am, hit something in the water and capsized. Fortunately for us, our captain was able to call the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) and some of us jumped inside the water before I was rescued by the fisherman,” he recalled.

    Raimi debunked reports that the boat was overloaded. He said all of them wore life jackets, adding: “I was the last person rescued, while bell marine came to save others,” he added.

    In the paper presented to the House, the association, led by Akeem Adeyoola, said commuters always face numerous challenges including engine failure in the boats.

    The group urged the state government to show interest in the sector and ensure strict regulation of waterways.

    Meanwhile, Commissioner for Transportation, Kayode Opeifa, has told the House that about two million passengers board ferries on the Lagos waterways monthly. Opeifa appeared before the House alongside the Managing Director of Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Tunde Marinho and his counterpart at the Lagos State Ferry Services (LASFERRY), Tunde Williams, on the tragedy.

    The commissioner said the mishap was caused by a loose log which the boat hit in motion, adding: “Against some claims, the boat was not overloaded, it had a capacity for 22 passengers but had 21 passengers on board.”

    Opeifa said every passenger on a boat is supposed to use life jacket according to the laws of the state.

    He also said the government was in process of distributing about 6,000 life jackets to operators of ferries. “Research has shown that even if all ferries in the state operate at the same time they can’t take more than 4,500 passengers at a time”, Opeifa said.

    The lawmakers stressed the need for the ministry to give more publicity to water transportation and also monitor the waterways to ensure that all laws regulating water transportation are complied with.

    Hon. Sanai Agunbiade (Ikorodu 1) said owners of loose logs should be identified and prosecuted and that laws regulating waterway transportation should be more publicised and enforced.

  • ‘We are committed to provision of street lights’

    The Lagos State government has assured that it remains committed to the provision of street lights, which he described, as necessary road furniture.

    The Commissioner of Transportation Comrade Kayode Opeifa who made this known to The Nation in his office, said the street lights, like other road furniture like drainages, pedestrian walkways, medians and kerbs, service ducts and bus lay-bys, are part of the agenda of the Fashola government as it transforms Lagos into a “model mega city.”

    He said the Lagos State Electricity Board has been saddled with installing street lights all over major streets and high ways for the safety and security of motorists.

    He said: “The street lights also have dedicated power generating set Alternative source of power to ensure the provision of continuous illumination of the streets especially at night.”

    Opeifa said the state has moved way out of what obtains in the past, where virtually all parts are enveloped by darkness, a development that promotes crime and criminality.

    He noted that the street lights has provided accelerated economic development and encouraged social integration across communities and localities.

    “That informs why all road contracts, which were awarded in the last seven years have as major components the street lights, and they are what the state has accepted as the basic minimum in road designs,” Opeifa added.

    The Commissioner for Transportation said the state, since 2000, has embarked on the development of a strategic transportation master plan which is anchored on road rehabilitation, junction improvement, one way system and lane marking, all of which has helped in maximising existing road space, reduce vehicle operation cost and promote road safety facilities.

    On pedestrian bridges, Opeifa said the government introduced the millennium bridges since year 2000, which took into consideration to the comfort and convenience of pedestrians as they were built with features that make them complement the various modern road projects being handled by the government.