Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

Order banning council officials from Lagos roads still in force, says LASTMA boss

By Odita Sunday and Gbenga Salau
08 February 2018   |   3:28 am
The directive of the Lagos State government ordering local council traffic officials to vacate roads in the state and desist from controlling and enforcing traffic laws is still in force, General Manager of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Olawale Musa, has said.

Urges motorists to report extortion

The directive of the Lagos State government ordering local council traffic officials to vacate roads in the state and desist from controlling and enforcing traffic laws is still in force, General Manager of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Olawale Musa, has said.

Addressing motorists and commuters at the agency’s head office in Oshodi, who had come to complain about the excessive activities of local government traffic officials, who operate in mufti, Musa said for the avoidance of doubt, the order is still operational on all roads in the state.

The complainants had besieged LASTMA’s office to report the activities of local government traffic officials operating in mufti, who were fond of arresting and towing vehicles to council secretariats.

According to them, many motorists have become victims of the said officials’ arbitrariness, lack of respect for rule of laws, assault, and illegal apprehension of vehicles, outright extortion and humiliation across the state.

One of the motorists, Otunba Olawale Yunusa, who spoke on behalf of the complainants, said if remain unchecked, the activities of the said council traffic officials were capable of disrupting free flow of traffic, social economic progress of the state, as well as undermine government’s efforts toward boosting tourism and security.

Responding, Musa said LASTMA had been inundated with motorists’ complaints about the activities of such unscrupulous elements, saying that the ban on their activities from controlling and enforcing traffic laws across the state was a government response to clarion call to curb their nefarious activities.

Musa enjoined motorists accosted by such officials not to yield to their intimidation and demand for money irrespective of location being taken to.He said: “We have been consistent in our position that no other government official at the state and local government level is assigned statutory responsibility of controlling and managing traffic in the state outside the traffic officials of LASTMA. Therefore, motorists and commuters should not yield to demand of any individual not in LASTMA uniform to take advantage of them.”

In this article

0 Comments