Council Traffic Officials Remain Banned From Lagos Roads-LASTMA GM

The Lagos State government order banning local government traffic officials from controlling and enforcing traffic laws is stil in force, General Manager of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr Olawale Musa, has said.

Addressing motorists and commuters with various complaints at the agency’s head office in Oshodi on Wednesday, Musa said the order is still operational on all roads in the state.

The complainants had besieged LASTMA’s office to report the activities of LG traffic officials operating in plain cloths and are fond of arresting and towing vehicles to local government offices and facilities.

They lamented that many motorists had become victims of the said council traffic officials’ “arbitrariness, lack of respect for rule of law, assault, 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 unchecked, the activities of the council traffic officials were capable of disrupting “free flow of traffic, affect 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,” and that the ban on their activities from controlling and enforcing traffic laws across the state was government’s response and a clarion call to curb their nefarious activities.

“The Local Government traffic officials are in the habit of displaying lack of professionalism in their conduct; they are improperly tutored in the act of managing traffic; they are ill-structured and dis-organised, and they lack respect for motorists and members of the public,” according to Musa.

He described the officials as those “attached to aprons of vested narrow interest” and their activities as “more of job for the boys,” making them operate in “anything-goes” manner.

Musa enjoined motorists accosted by such officials not to yield to their intimidation and demand for money irrespective of location being taken to.

The LASTMA boss said the agency was determined to sustain and improve on the existing tempo, reduce travel time and maintain discipline among the traffic officials.