Between January and June 2024, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) impounded 9,370 vehicles for alleged traffic violations.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki revealed this at the weekend during a meeting with relevant stakeholders in the transportation industry.
Mr. Bakare-Oki further disclosed that 3,034 private vehicles were impounded, including 1,849 cars, 549 buses, and 636 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), among others.
While noting that 256 casualties were recorded during the period, he urged the motoring public, especially motorists to obey all traffic rules and regulations and to respect traffic managers.
According to him, “In the last six months, it has been a mix of good, bad, and ugly, but we have managed to overcome many challenges, particularly in training and retraining our personnel. We have successfully trained 2,000 of our staff, both internally and externally”.
He revealed that over 900 personnel were trained externally in collaboration with the training department of the Nigerian Police, Lagos Command. Additionally, more than 1,200 traffic officers received training from three different consultants on leadership skills, emotional intelligence, customer care, and incident management.
“We are undertaking these initiatives to improve our service delivery to Lagos residents. LASTMA aims to rebuild public confidence, particularly in public relations”, the General Manager stated.
Mr. Bakare-Oki also announced that the authority’s toll-free call centre would be launched soon and would accommodate English, Yoruba, and Pidgin speakers to facilitate ease of communication and feedback.
Regarding enforcement exercise, the General Manager highlighted that LASTMA began by clearing the Apapa Port area, conducting several operations to remove trucks and tankers parked indiscriminately along the Apapa route.
He said, “Apart from the Apapa corridor and Iyana-Ipaja, we also cleared areas like Idumota, Apogbon, CMS, and the Lekki-Ajah axis thereby improving the level of orderliness in these areas. We have made significant strides across the five divisions in Lagos in terms of enforcement, and this effort is continuous and ongoing”.
“We are committed to improving travel time for Lagos residents on all major roads across the State, especially during peak periods”, he added.
Mr. Bakare-Oki reiterated that LASTMA is taking all necessary measures to enhance traffic management in Lagos, including the deployment of over 2,000 pieces of traffic equipment.
