Ambode orders arrest of trailers, trucks on road at daytime

THE Lagos State government, yesterday, ordered taskforce and other law enforcement agencies to impound trailers and long vehicles plying the metropolis at day time.

The directive, government said, was in line with Section 2 (i) and 2 (ii) of the Lagos Road Traffic Law 2012, which restrict trailers and long vehicles from plying the metropolis between the hours of 6am to 9pm.

Confirming the directive, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Oluseyi Whenu, said the order was necessitated by the fatal accident involving a container-laden trailer at Ojuelegba last Wednesday.

Whenu said that the state government would henceforth go tough on any trailer and long vehicle that contravenes the Law; as such vehicle would be impounded and made to pay the stipulated fine accordingly.

Meanwhile, leaders of various transport unions and associations in the State, at the weekend, rose from a meeting with officials of the state government with a resolve to support the new directive introduced in apprehending traffic offenders.

Whenu, at the meeting clarified the state government’s position on the new directive, saying the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials have not been withdrawn from performing their statutory responsibilities on the road.

He said the new directive would pay more emphasis on flawless flow of traffic, while traffic offenders will now be booked and expected to pay their fines within the stipulated period in line with the state government’s covenant with Lagosians to make life easier for them.

Responding, the State Chairman of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Musa Muhammed, who spoke on behalf of other Union leaders, welcomed the new initiative just as he pledged the support of their members to cooperate with the state government in maintaining law and order and sanity in the transport sector.

In a related development, the State government has also restated its readiness to rid the state of street trading, saying it would fully enforce the provisions of the law-restricting street trading in the metropolis.

Chairman of the State Task Force on Environmental and Other Special Offences (Enforcement Unit), Olubukola Abe, who gave the commitment said the new drive was to further reduce the traffic congestion on the road that is often caused by the activities of street-trading.