Fashola: It’s Total War On Okada
The
Lagos State Government has declared total war on commercial motorcycle
riders also known as okada riders plying the 475 prohibited routes in
the Lagos metropolis.
It
said police enforcement of the ban was just a tip of the iceberg of
what would befall the riders still flouting government’s order that they
avoid the prohibited routes.
Speaking
at the 2012 Annual Council of Prophets Convention of the Cherubim and
Seraphim Movement Church, Surulere District, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria,
to sensitise members of the church on the new road traffic law, Fashola
said police action was just to test-run how the raid on okada riders
would be.
The
governor added that by the time officials of the Lagos State Traffic
Management Authority, LASTMA, Kick Against Indiscipline, KAI and other
security agencies joined in the enforcement, there would be no hiding
place for okada riders.
Fashola,
who was represented by the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode
Opeifa, said total enforcement would soon begin, saying what was
currently ongoing by the police was not full enforcement.
He
stated that the thinking of the government was that by the end of this
month, no okada rider should be seen on any of the prohibited routes,
saying that government was more determined to enforce the ban.
According
to Fashola, there were lots of jobs to do for okada riders that might
lose their businesses, saying that many of them abandoned their
vocational skills to make quick money through okada riding.
The
governor told the gathering that the law was not meant to punish people
but to sanitise and regulate the transportation system and by making
people comply.
Fashola
said the new law gave power to LASTMA to arrest anyone who flouted it
as well as impose stipulated fines on erring members of the public.
He
stated that the law recommend outright dismissal for LASTMA officials
found to be corrupt in the course of performing their duties, as no one
would be spared.
“Our
plan is not to send people to jail but to make people comply,” he said,
adding that beginning from January, commuter buses would only be
allowed to ply the route routes they were registered to ply.
He
vowed that any commercial bus caught plying routes they were not
registered to ply would be impounded and the driver arrested and
prosecuted.
The
governor appealed to leaders of the church to educate their members to
obey the traffic law, saying that they should preach it from the pulpit
so that their members could obey the law.
“Talking
in the church to members is one of the most effective ways to sensitise
the people. The church should help us send the message to people to
obey the traffic law. Let your driver go to the Lagos drivers institute
to get certified,” he stated.
District
Chairman and General Leader, Cherubim and Seraphim, Surulere District,
Dr. Gabriel Fakeye, who was represented by the Deputy District Chairman,
Senior Apostle J.A. Toriola, said the church would assist the state
government in sensitizing members on the new traffic law and the need to
obey the law.
Meanwhile,
okada riders went on the rampage in various parts of Lagos State,
Southwest Nigeria, today to protest the ban on them from plying 475
roads in the metropolis.
At
Onipanu, on Ikorodu Road, the irate okada riders vandalised about 10
BRT buses during the violent protest against the Lagos State Government.
P.M.NEWS
gathered that the okada riders stormed Onipanu area very early in the
morning and vent their anger on BRT buses, destroying them.
Armed
with sticks, iron roads and other dangerous weapons, the Okada riders
hauled stones at BRT buses on Ikorodu road at Onipanu and Palmgrove bus
stops.
There
was pandemonium in the area and a team of policemen from the Rapid
Response Squad, RRS was deployed to the area to quell the protest.
It was gathered that some arrests were made by the police but our reporter could not confirm the number of arrests.
Similarly,
the riders also protested in Ikorodu and Ejigbo areas of the state this
morning over the ban on them by government. In Ejigbo, the riders
blocked the road, causing traffic jam in the area while they carried
leaves and chanted anti-government songs.
They outrightly rejected the ban placed on them from plying 475 roads in Lagos, saying it would cripple their businesses.
Police
Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide confirmed the protest, saying
that the police moved in on time to quell the protest.
She said she could not confirm if arrests were made as at the time of filing this report, but said everything was under control.
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