Lagos CP, Odumosu Orders Full Enforcement of Restriction Order on Okada In 6 LGAs, 9 LCDAs In Lagos , Warns Over Traffic Violation | AgegePulse Magazine

By Ayodele Ifasakin 

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, recently at the Command Headquarters, Ikeja, Lagos, ordered officers and men and tactical Commanders of the command to immediately embark on full enforcement of restriction order of the Lagos State Government on Okada operations in some areas of the State.

R: Lagos CP, Hakeem Odumosu 

The Commissioner of Police, while reacting to act of lawlessness, recklessness and impunity being exhibited by some road users especially okada riders who grossly violate traffic laws of Lagos State; and motorcyclists operating within the six (6) Local Government Areas and nine (9) Local Council Development Authorities which are restricted for their operations. 

The police boss particularly ordered officers and men of the command to go after road users including Okada operators who drive against the traffic and ply BRT corridors. He emphasised that the violators should be arrested and prosecuted accordingly. 

CP Hakeem Odumosu specifically warned security operatives who violate traffic laws in the state to desist from the unlawful act as any security personnel, be it police, military or paramilitary caught violating traffic law will be arrested and caused to face the full wrath of the law. The police boss reiterated that such gross violation with impunity must stop. 

The Commissioner of Police also appealed to residents of Lagos State to desist from violating traffic laws and encouraging road users to do same as the command will implement full enforcement of the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018 and other extant laws of Lagos State.

CP Hakeem Odumosu equally warned the police operatives and teams who are detailed for the enforcement order operation to act within the ambit of the law and discharge their duties devoid of extortion or corrupt practices in any form as such will not be tolerated by the command

Exclusive: Mr Governor, Time for Genuine Palliative is Now

AgegePulse Magazine

The Lagos Bus Rapid Transit System, also known as Lagos BRT,  regulated by The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority ( LAMATA) and currently operated by Primero Transport Services Limited mode of operation in Lagos is to say the least abysmal and becoming a huge hole in the pocket of Lagosians whose salary and earnings have not increased during the Covid 19 pandemic, but have to pay more exorbitant prices for new fares introduced by Primero.

Note too long ago I listened  attentively to Mr. Governor chat at Journalist hangout on TVC News, sadly, there was no reactions from Mr. Governor or the presenter to the realities of hard time Lagosians are on a daily basis facing to get to their various destinations due to increase in public transportation fares occasioned by the social distance arrangement in public transportation, which necessitated a reduction in the number of passengers a public bus can convey.

BRT before now was the populace, especially the low income earners' succour from the pangs and inhuman treatment the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) workers inflict on the people through their often inconsiderate,
 exhorbitant and indiscriminate hike in transport fares. The emergence of LAGBUS and BRT was thus a relief from high handed and "uncontrollable" activities of the yellow buses, popularly called "Danfo" and their high capacity bus counterparts - Molue.

However, Primerio Ltd's sole license to operate alone on the BRT corridor has also been abused; making the operator complacent. The monopoly enjoyed by Primero Ltd is a flagrant misapplication of the goodwill successive governors in Lagos State invested in the novel public transportation venture. The ordinary Lagos commuters that is supposed  to benefit from the expected global transportation efficiency of the BRT have been handed the short end of stick through unreasonable increment of transportation fares by Primero Ltd. The latest increment is rather sour and rash coming when the government of Governor Babajide Sanwoolu was marking its first year in office; making the increase a bad one year gift to the people!

The Covid-19 pandemic, the world over, has exemplify how compassionate and soft-hearted a government ought to be during trying times to the citizenry. But, rather than making life easier for the people, Primero Ltd and, by extension, Lagos state government are adding to the anguish of the people. It is not out of place for Lagos State government to liaise with Primero Ltd on how to subsidize the cost of commuting the people during the pandemic. Paradoxically, instead of Lagosians enjoying palliative assistance from the government, we are being inflicted with hike in transportation fares. It is a glaring fact that majority of the people who use the BRT are artisans, traders, students and people in the informal sector, whose income remain unchanged.

On the other hand, I believe it is time for Lagos state government to break the monopoly of the Primero buses on the BRT corridor and allow other operators to compete,  to allow the poor masses enjoy better  choice and services.

On this note, I warmly congratulate Governor Babajide Sanwoolu for the service and human leadership he provided being the incident commander and number one frontliner in the fight against Corona Virus and marking his one year of being on the driver's seat of the economic capital of Nigeria. You have recorded a commendable start, one can only wish you a successful and eventful ending of tenure.


Comrade Alarape Aliu writes from Agboyi Ketu LCDA, Kosofe, Lagos.

Operator to assemble BRT Buses in Lagos 2019

The operator of Bus Rapid Transit system in Lagos, Primero Transport Services Limited, has said its bus assembly plant being built in the state will begin operation in the second quarter of next year.

The Managing Director of the firm, Mr Fola Tinubu, disclosed this in Lagos on Tuesday.

He also spoke on plans by the firm to phase out manual ticketing and replace it with a card system in the first quarter of 2019.

Tinubu said that Primero had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with one of the biggest bus manufacturers in the world, Yutong, to establish the bus assembly plant in Lagos.

Already, he said that the plant had been set up in Epe and expressed the hope that it would go into mass production of high capacity buses by the second quarter of 2019 when a new BRT corridor being constructed by the Lagos State Government between Oshodi and Abule-Egba would have been completed and allowed to operate.

According to him, the transport firm which started full operation in November 2015, currently has 434 buses conveying 150,000 people daily across major terminals between Ikorodu and Tafawa Balewa Square.

Tinubu said the company planned to increase to 200,000 passengers daily on the Ikorodu/TBS corridor, adding that should Primero win the bid to operate the Abule-Egba/Oshodi corridor, it would deploy additional 350 buses in the route.

He said the organisation hoped to increase its buses to 2,000 with capacity to convey one million passengers daily.

On the plan to completely phase out manual ticketing in the first quarter of 2019, he said all passengers would be compelled to embrace the card system to remove the hassle of queuing to buy tickets.

He called for a conference of all the stakeholders to discuss how to make the public transportation work in Lagos and ensure its viability for investors.

“The discussion must hold if you don’t want the BRT system to collapse like the LSTC and other public transportation arrangements,” he said.

The MD said Primero, 100 per cent privately-owned, had been paying certain percentage of its revenue to the state government giving it the exclusive right to use the dedicated BRT lanes constructed by the government.

Tinubu, however, noted that there had not been any increase in bus fares in the last eight years, despite continuous rise in its operational costs.

“Our biggest challenge is the naira devaluation. We borrow a lot of money in dollars; we import parts in dollars and when the naira nose-dived, our debts doubled and the cost of parts we use has doubled,” he said.

Source: Punch