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Tag: LASTMA

  • Perm Sec laments LASTMA officers’ performance

    Perm Sec laments LASTMA officers’ performance

    Ministry of Transportation Permanent Secretary Mr Sewedo Oluseyi Whenu has expressed displessure over the performance of some Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officers, saying it is below par.

    Whenu urged them to focus on their jobs to ensure smooth flow of traffic, warning them to shun bribery and corruption.

    He spoke last Friday at the 2016 LASTMA Management Retreat in FESTAC.

    The Permanent Secretary reminded the officers of their duties, urging them to move LASTMA to greater heights.

    Speaking with The Nation, LASTMA Chief Executive Officer Chris Olakpe said the retreat was organised to review the agency’s failings and to build on its achievements.

    “We want to introspect after three months into the year, look at our pluses and minuses and to ask other people to come so that we can sharpen our wits and be able to share our weaknesses and strength and opportunities and threats to be able to move forward.

    “We intend to build a new LASTMA through collaboration. In fact, on Thursday, we are building what we call a LASTMA Community Relations Committee which would include LASTMA officials, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), luxury drivers association, the police and members of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and sundry agencies. It would also include members of the public sector all coming together under one body in order to collaborate on moving traffic in Lagos.”

  • Death from road accidents higher than AIDS – FRSC

    Death from road accidents higher than AIDS – FRSC

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said that the number of deaths recorded daily on highways through road accidents is higher than death from the dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

    This was disclosed by the acting Sector Commander of FRSC in Lagos State, Michael Olapade during a courtesy call on the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa in his office, Alausa Ikeja on Tuesday.

    While recalling the death of Minister of state for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi, his wife and son as a result of an auto crash along Abuja-Kaduna road, Olapada said “the lives of our youths are being lost on daily basis. Many people talk of AIDS as most deadly, FRSC do not believe this when you talk of number of deaths, road accidents are higher.”

    The sector Commander explained that as everybody continues to aspire in life, “we want to partner with all the people that are important to the people so that we will save lives for Nigeria to be better.”

    While appealing for more support from the House, Olapade stated that the number of units and equipment for the organisation is inadequate.

    He pointed out that the institution in Lagos has 15 units and one sector command, saying that out of the total number of vehicles in the country, Lagos state has one quarter. “The number of these units is not enough to complement the efforts of other traffic agencies like LASTMA and VIO.”

    While assuring the institution’s readiness to collaborate with the state government, Olapade said that the organization has plans in the offing to decorate members of the House as special marshals.

    In his reaction, the Speaker said the House appreciates the good job done by the men of FRSC.

    He however stated that effort must be made to curtail the activities of bad eggs in the organisation that extort money from motorists.

    “You should monitor the activities of your men, there are roads that can’t be categorised as either federal or state road some of your men do go to extort money from motorists,” Obasa said.

    Obasa also urged the institution to intensify effort on campaigns, adding that there was need to

  • LASTMA sensitises residents on traffic management

    LASTMA sensitises residents on traffic management

    The campaign and advocacy unit of the Lagos State Transportation Management Authority (LASTMA) has held a sensitisation programme for residents of Oduwaye and neighbouring communities in Gbagada area of Lagos State ahead of the construction of a multi-million naira flyover being built by the Deeper Life Bible Church in that area.

    The programme, which took place at the premises of Deeper Life Cathedral, Oduwaye Street, adjacent to the flyover site, was meant to prepare the residents and intimate them of measures that had already being put in place to reduce traffic congestion during the construction.

    LASTMA Deputy Controller of Operation, Mr. Philip Femi Ogunwale said the construction  is massive and would likely lead to traffic build-up in Gbagada area, saying that during the construction, LASTMA would deploy men and materials to reduce the hardship.

    The flyover upon completion, according to him, would ease traffic gridlock in the area as residents will no longer need to access the underground, but move via the flyover bridge.

    “The traffic gridlock that they normally experience, especially when they have programmes in the Cathedral will no longer be there. Those who have no business in the church will just pass through the bridge and go their way,” he said.

    The LASTMA’s Deputy Controller of Operation said the agency has put measures in place to ease traffic congestion in the area during the period. He enjoined residents to co-operate with LASTMA and the contractors handling the project until the construction is over.

    Community Development Association (CDA) Chairman, Araromi/Sawmill, Gbagada Chief Olukayode Onasanya hailed the project, lamenting the poor state of inner routes in the neighbourhood, saying many residents will suffer untold hardship should the construction commence without making the inner route accessible.

    Onasanya said: “We are happy about the project because it’s for the development of the area. But, if they want to do it, they have to take care of the access roads too. When it starts and everything is blocked, all motorists going to Araromi, Sawmill, Shoniyi Kiniun-Ifa to Ifako will find it difficult to connect their streets.

    “If there are access roads like Bakare Dauda Street through to Ope Odu, those coming from the express will just pass through that route and will not bother coming here at all. For Shoniyi, there is a route at Yetunde Brown, they will take that place and go to Shoniyi. They will not need passing here at all.”

    The Flyover Project Architect, Pastor Kayode Dada, said the contract had already been awarded to Julius Berger Construction Company, with the project expected to take off immediately.

    He said the flyover would be constructed alongside a four-level Motor Park for worshippers in the cathedral to be able to park their vehicles.

  • Lagos to ban sales of alcohol, Indian hemp at motor parks

    Lagos State Government on Wednesday said it is working with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to flush out those selling Indian hemp and alcohol in motor parks across the state.

    The Chief Executive Officer of Lagos State Transportation Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Christian Akioja Olakpe, said this at a public education and enlightenment programme put together by LASTMA for articulated truck drivers at Naval Park, Marine Beach, Apapa, Lagos.

    He said driving under the influence of alcohol and drug are major causes of road accidents, adding that LASTMA will not fail to enforce the state traffic laws to the fullest.

    Olakpe said, “We are planning to partner with NDLEA to flush out these hangers-around who sell drugs and alcoholic drinks in motor parks. We have also told the articulated truck drivers that when they are strapping their cargoes, they should strap them well and drive at reasonable speed.

    “LASTMA is coming with full enforcement because we are going to include court processes, ticketing and impounding of vehicles and penalising of erring motorists. It will be very tough for those who don’t want to key into the change mantra of traffic law in Lagos.”

     

  • Danfo driver ‘punches’ out LASTMA man’s tooth

    Danfo driver ‘punches’ out LASTMA man’s tooth

    A 31-year-old commercial bus driver was yesterday charged before an Ejigbo Magistrates’ Court for allegedly battering a Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officer while on duty.

    The driver, Ikechukwu Chukwuemeka, and nine others now at large, allegedly assaulted Jinadu Bashiru and knocked off one of his teeth.

    Chukuemeka pleaded not guilty.

    The incident happened on Akowonjo road.

    The Nation learnt that Chukwuemeka loaded his bus and allowed some passengers to hang on the door while he was driving.

    Bashiru was said to have stopped Chukwuemeka to ask why he was contravening the law.

    An angry Chukwuemeka reportedly got down, grabbed Bashiru and started beating him for “wasting my time”.

    It was gathered that other suspects ‘at large’ also joined Chukwuemeka to beat Bashiru.

    Police at Shasha division arrested Chukwuemeka, but at the station, he denied assaulting Bashiru and refused to produce the other suspects.

    Magistrate J.O.E. Adeyemi granted him N100,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    He was remanded in prison custody at Kirikiri pending when he perfects his bail condition. The matter was adjourned till February 8.

     

  • Church hosts LASTMA

    Church hosts LASTMA

    Our concern is to drive Lagos economy into traffic precision where we can time our activities, Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) General Manager Bashir Braimah said yesterday at the third annual community festival of the Methodist Church, Diocese of Lagos West, Opebi Circuit.

    Braimah said LASTMA and the Methodist shared so many things in common as they make sacrifice to the people.

    He said: “As Methodist Church is appreciated by the Methodist, Lagosians do not appreciate LASTMA. We are abused, cursed and accused for doing the right thing at the right time. I am overwhelmed that for ones, we are appreciated. Now we know who is praying for us. We are going to increase our presence on the road. LASTMA is driving the economy; it is driving commerce; so, people shouldn’t look at us as controlling only vehicles.”

    Chairman Planning Committee, Mrs. Elizabeth Adeboye, said LASTMA was chosen because of what they have been doing in the state, adding: “We want to encourage them to know God and also urge Nigerians to obey traffic rules because they have been trying for us and we as individuals need to take precautionary measures while driving to avoid accidents and to reduce death on highway.”

  • I’ve political will to tackle traffic gridlock – Ambode

    I’ve political will to tackle traffic gridlock – Ambode

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Thursday assured the people of the State of his strong political will to take tough decisions and implement effective strategies to bring about a robust traffic management system in the State.

    Ambode, who stated this at the Traffic Management and Transportation Summit organised by the State Government, said as a government, his administration is keenly committed to make Lagos work for all, and that effective traffic management, for him, is a good place to start.

    The Governor observed that with the realities on ground, there is the need for practical and innovative solutions to address the traffic challenges confronting the State to deliver immediate dividends and future aspirations.

    He said: “Lagos, in many ways, is a victim of its own success as many people leave other states and travel to Lagos seeking better opportunities. More Nigerians want to reside in Lagos and this obviously comes with some challenges.”

    “As one of the leading commercial centres and an emerging City-State, we need to go back to the drawing board and agree on how our transportation sector can be effectively and efficiently operated to support the kind of trade and investment we want to continually attract.”

    “We need to collectively examine how transportation sector can improve public sector delivery through better institutional framework, quality transport infrastructure and then tackle wasteful and socially harmful transport patterns. You will agree with me that the ease of travelling, mobility and communication are critical fuels for our State economic engine,” the Governor said.

    Reflecting on the circumstances of high population and pressing need for economic growth, Governor Ambode said there is a strong need for stakeholders in the transport sector to evaluate and articulate smarter and effective strategies that would reduce congestion across the roads.

    While emphasising the need for all stakeholders to work together to ensure a commuter-friendly and productive Lagos that promotes a shared sense of vision and leadership opportunities for all, the Governor stressed the need for the consideration of how to make other means of transportation more viable and attractive to reduce the pressure on the roads.

    He added: “As a Government that is keen on promoting business and creating wealth opportunities for our residents, we are committed to seeking and funding substantial and comprehensive solutions to traffic challenges, therefore we are ready to take tough recommendations you come out with.”

    “We owe it to the people to ensure Lagos works for all. Tackling traffic is a good place to start; a good place to begin the significant change that our people expect from us. Let us make Lagos work for us all,” the Governor said.

    Earlier in his welcome address, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Dayo Mobereola said the summit was put together in furtherance of Governor Ambode’s determination and commitment to genuinely address the traffic challenges confronting the State.

    He added that the summit was also aimed at jointly developing workable system and solution with all stakeholders with the view to articulate and share knowledge and explore innovative approaches to free the roads and help in developing a robust traffic management.

    On his part, Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi said because of its strategic importance to Nigeria’s economy, Lagos accounts for about 70 percent of the country’s transportation network and over 30 percent of vehicular density in Nigeria.

    He added that there are about 40 petroleum tank farms in Lagos, and that the best way to tackle traffic gridlock is full enforcement of traffic laws and regulations.

    While calling for synergy among the enforcement agencies, Oyeyemi also urged the State Government to establish Mobile Traffic Courts so as to further boost and compliment traffic enforcement.

    The summit was with the theme: “Tackling Current, Evolving and Future Traffic Management Needs of Lagos State.”

    There were sector perspectives from the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the Nigerian Police, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), among others, while the lead paper was presented by Dr. Gboyega Banjo, a traffic management expert who worked with the World Bank for 17 years.

  • All is well

    All is well


    Delight played with shadows on the face of Abraham Lincoln as he walked into a knot of reporters. “Boys your troubles are now over,” he said memorably. “Mine have just begun.” The 16th president of the United States had to contend with a turbulent stewardship. The South rumbled with racial prejudice. The North puffed with the law. In between, Lincoln became statesman, general, arbiter and reconciler. He fought to weld a nation. In his triumph, he gained his people. Winning an election is often a big fight. But after the victory, the elected become almost like a new bride in the house. After winning her as a bachelor, you have to win her as a husband. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode found this as he tried to settle down as the helmsman of Lagos State, the alpha precinct of the nation. So, while he was reorganising the civil service, putting his men in office, and fleshing out a vision, two mighty bears growled into place in the city. Traffic went out of control. In Lagos, where traffic snarls, hoodlums gnarl. One monster mounts another on top of the hapless citizen. The underbelly of Lagos began turned a boiling room. The commercial hub was not only a place to make money for the creative and sublime. It is the spring of the artiste; the lowborn and the derelict can turn into saints and martyrs. It is also the platform that lifts the cunning into a hero, for the deranged to offer cure for sick. In Lagos, money scrunches and blares. It is Nigeria’s big bright Babylon. Hence as the elections came earlier in the year, a distorted narrative sprang up. The lofty doings of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola fell into the mischief of a new narrative. If he did well by turning Lagos into a place of better, disciplined traffic, he became vilified as the terror who brought bribery and tyrants to the streets. If he curbed the flurry of gangsters who robbed and raped, he was the one who made Lagos into an emergency of blood-red villains as law enforcers. Ambode’s candidacy became framed as a continuation of Fashola’s tyranny. The okada riders fumed. The market women fulminated. The taxi driver grunted. Some tribes differed because of work to sanitise markets and neighbourhoods. They made Fashola into a burden on Ambode. In the end, Ambode prevailed with a cliffhanger after the PDP and Jimi Agbaje manipulated the fallacies into fact and minted false hopes. Governor Ambode played the conciliating husband after the wedding, and suddenly the bride accused him of holiness. We were in the terrain of hosanna today, crucify him tomorrow. So, by pouring scorn on the Lagos State Governor, they were actually indicting themselves and apologising for voting the way they did. It was teething lesson in governance. It is a good thing it has happened. And Lagosians and Nigerians now know that there is virtue in discipline. That Fashola was not wrong and Ambode is now right. He has released the men of LASTMA and police on the streets and the evidence is beginning to show. The husband is getting a good grip of the bride. The traffic problem has been like this always towards the end of the year, but it coincided with the teething days of the governor. That is what is called a double jeopardy. Some of the culprits have had his attention. Oshodi, for instance. In the past couple of weeks, it has eased, especially towards the late evenings. Before that, the yellow bus drivers hogged the road and waited to fill up before moving. All commuters were held hostage. Now, the police stand, gun in hand, in menacing duty. The buses are now coy. The Economist magazine furrowed many brows in its characterisation of Ambode. Writing in a sardonic style, its story fell short of its cherished promise of promoting liberalism and free market. It would have compared traffic in London to Lagos and how technology has been the fulcrum of the handling of modern traffic. It made no reference to suggested innovations. It just went on a free fall of prejudice, contradicting itself. It called for law and order and condemned it in Fashola’s era. Nothing tells the story of the traffic situation than Governor Ambode’s encounter with one of the offenders of Lagos traffic. Two Sundays ago while the governor was driving around town to see things for himself, a yellow bus hurtled towards him. It was driving on a one-way lane, against the rules. The governor stopped his car, stepped out, and confronted the driver. The picture was famous on the front pages of a few dailies. The driver walked out surprised to see the state’s first citizen. Governor Ambode asked him why he was violating the traffic law. All the driver did was to plead for forgiveness. He said he was heading for church and he had to take that route with his fellow churchgoers in order not lag behind the grace of God. Now this was typical Nigerian. He had sinned against heaven and against man. So, too, the churchgoers who tagged along. They did not give unto Caesar what was Caesar’s. If they did, they would have abided by the traffic law. They did not give unto God what is God’s. If they did, they would not have sinned against Caesar by violating the law of the land. No one will cavil at Ambode at election time or at any other time by railing at the virtue of enforcing discipline. By endorsing discipline now, Lagosians, including artisans, okada riders and peddlers of market chaos, have shown remorse at their own past ill grace. If Ambode had continued with the measures he inherited, they would have accused him of perpetuating tyranny. Early on, he would have been held hostage. This is liberating moment, an epiphany in discipline. Because of this important distraction, few have seen some of the capital things Ambode has done. Lagos today is the most active in infrastructure work in Nigeria, with work going on in a flurry in many parts from Mile 12 to Yaba to Ikorodu Road to Ipaja to Victoria Island. In his play, All is Well that Ends Well, Shakespeare dramatises two lovers that never begin well but end well. Some have called the play a tragedy and others comedy. Modern critics call it a “problem play” because it dances on a perilous border between laugh and cry. Ambode has somehow with the early problems nudged the city to the early cracks of a laugh by helping to make Lagosians vote for discipline over chaos. Added to this is his foray into technology to fight the mighty bears. For instance, the use of helicopters helps to locate and isolate traffic and criminals and fight them from the air. Now Governor Ambode has to figure out  how to make LASTMA incorruptible. 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  • LASTMA set to recruit

    To strengthen its 2,300 workforce, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) will soon embark on recruitment, the governor’s Speical Adviser on Transportation, Mr Olanrewaju Elegushi, has said.

    Elegushi told reporters in Lagos that LASTMA has 2,300 personnel manning over 9,000 roads.

    “We are working on that and very soon, we will boost the workforce and you will see more reliable LASTMA officials on our roads,’’ Elegushi said.

    He promised that the government would also improve the working conditions of LASTMA personnel.

    Also speaking, the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Dayo Mobereola, said the government would ensure that transportation is  safe, reliable, accessible and comfortable.

    “When you have reliable and efficient buses, you will find out that people will prefer to use them rather than the yellow and black commercial vehicles, the danfos and molues,’’ he said.

    He said the plan was not to make the commercial bus operators jobless, but to incorporate them into the system through good training and technical know-how.

    The commissioner said the government was ready to make Lagos an efficient city that is liveable with good mobility.

    “That is our primary aim and to do this, we have to develop our public transportation system very well.

    “We need to develop water transportation routes, mass transportation system with good buses and efficient rail system.

    “All of them complementing each other will make a liveable city,’’ Mobereola said.

    On the activities of touts, Mobereola said the government would come up with a mechanism to eradicate the growing menace.

    “The first thing we do not want is touts or union members collecting dues on the roads; it is a violation of the laws of the state,’’ he said.

  • Ambode appoints ex-police chief as LASTMA boss

    Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Monday approved the appointment of a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr. Christian Akioja Olakpe as the new Chief Executive Officer of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).

    The appointment of Olakpe, according to a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Habib Aruna, is in strong response to complaints by the public on the situation of traffic on the roads.

    The government said the appointment is meant to revamp the LASTMA for improved performance and better relations with the public and the state, adding that Olakpe’s wealth of experience was required for the job.

    Olakpe is a graduate of Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos.

    He joined the Nigeria Police Force in 1982 and traversed various commands including Bayelsa and Plateau where he served as Commissioner of Police.

    He was also the Deputy Commandant of the Police Academy, Kano and Commissioner of Police of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit, Lagos.