Okada Ban: Lagos Crushes 2,000 Motorcycles

Segun James

The Lagos State Government has commenced the crushing of about 2,000 apprehended motorcycles in line with the ban on Okada operations in the six local government Areas (LGAs) and nine Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Lagos.

This is as the Chairman of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit (Taskforce), CSP Shola Jejeloye, said that there is 85 per cent compliance with the commercial motorcycle ban in the last three days. 

Reiterating the government’s commitment to the safety and security of lives and property, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso while briefing journalists at the crushing of the impounded bikes in Ikeja, stated that the exercise shows that the government was not rescinding his decision.

Lauding Lagos residents for the high level of compliance observed in all six LGAs, he mentioned that so far, 21 people had been charged to court for flouting the ban, with over 2,000 bikes confiscated as well. He stated that provision has been made for motorcycle riders affected by the ban interested in operating the First and Last Mile buses to be integrated into the scheme.

Omotoso further disclosed that affected riders may consider enrolling at any of the 18 vocational centres across the state or access the Lagos State Employment Trust Funds to explore other fields of work, adding that Okada is not a safe means of commercial transportation and does not fit into the transport policy of the state.

Also present at the crushing exercise, the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, averred that the motorcycles being crushed were apprehended by the enforcement agencies from the six LGAs and nine LCDAs, adding that the state government will not relent in its effort to ensure Okadas stay banned in the aforementioned areas.

Urging Lagosians to remain calm and patient with the government on the ban, Oladeinde assured that the ongoing implementation of the multi-modal transportation system will cater to the commuting needs of the citizenry.

He affirmed that more buses, taxis and boats have been deployed to ensure that commuters have decent alternatives to get to their destinations. He stressed that Lagosians should adhere to the ban instituted and obey all the state traffic laws by extension

Chairman Lagos State Taskforce, CSP Jejeloye also declared that enforcement will be intensified in the coming week, sounding a note of warning to recalcitrant riders that any rider waiting for the enforcement team to weaken their resolve on the Okada ban is wasting their time and that the Lagos State Task Force will live up to its responsibility.

He said that the enforcement of the ban would continue, so as to ensure sanity of the environment. 

‘’Eight-five per cent compliance in the sense that we don’t see Okadas on the roads, on the express any longer. The number has drastically reduced. 

‘’They might be of the belief that the first one week of the enforcement will be thorough; after one week we are going to relax, anyway, we will watch and see. 

’I am passing this message to them that from next week, we will do more intense enforcement. Even those areas we cannot get to this week, we are going to extend to. So another phase will start on Monday. 

‘’These three first days of enforcement is just to test-run it, to check the number of compliance, then the sustainability plan is the next phase, which we are going to enter on Monday,’’ he said. 

Jejeloye said that there was no going back on enforcement of Okada ban, as government does not make mockery of its policies and decisions.