The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced a total ban of commercial motorcycle operators otherwise known as Okada riders in 6 local government areas in the state.
This is coming barely 2 days after a task force in the state embarked on a serious clampdown of Okada riders on the Lekki axis.
The affected local government listed by the governor includes Ikeja, Surulere, Eti-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island, and Apapa.
Sanwo-Olu, who said that the ban is indefinite and total, gave out the directive at a meeting with the Commissioner of Police, Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) at the State House in Alausa, Ikeja.
The new directive from the governor appears to be a follow up to the February 2020 restriction placed on the activities of these commercial motorcyclists in these areas.
What the Lagos State Governor is saying
Sanwo-Olu said the state government took the decision in line with the State’s Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018 to immediately address the chaos and menace created by the operations of Okada in the listed areas.
He told the police to enforce the order without compromise.
The Governor said, “After a critical review of our restriction on Okada activities in the first six Local Government Areas where we restricted them on February 1, 2020, we have seen that the menace has not abated. We are now directing a total ban on Okada activities across the highways and bridges within these six Local Government and their Local Council Development Areas, effective from June 1, 2022.
“This is a phased ban we are embarking on this period, and we expect that within the short while when this ban will be enforced, Okada riders in other places where their activities are yet to be banned can find something else to do. We have given the notice now and we expect all commercial motorcycles plying the routes in the listed councils and areas to vacate the highways before enforcement begins. The enforcement will be total.”
What you should know
- Recall that 2 days ago, the Lagos State Task Force embarked on a serious clampdown of commercial motorcyclists on the Lekki axis in a move that appears to be connected to the outrage that greeted the killing and burning of a young man, simply identified as David by suspected motorcyclists in the Admiralty area of Lekki, Lagos.
- It was learnt that the victim, who was a sound engineer, was lynched and burnt to death after a misunderstanding ensued over the N100 balance with one of the commercial motorcyclists.
- The incident coincided with the Sokoto mob attack that killed a Shehu Shagari College of Education student, Deborah Emmanuel, over alleged blasphemy.
Hausa Fulqnis feels the own Nigeria. That’s why they always feel they can get away with any crime they commit.. Report any of them at the Police station, nothing happens.
They can kill, rob, main, Nigeria is theirs.
Thank you all
Please Amuwo odofin LGA should be included.
Omo is a nice idea but come to think of it how will the okada do in other to sustain there self
They can return to where they came from – and perhaps try farming, as Nigeria needs as many able-bodied farmers as possible!
Otherwise, they can relocate to other cities that actually need Okada more than Lagos (that has BRT, Last-Mile Bus, Ferry and soon, light rail – in addition to Danfo).
EKO O NI BAJE!
Thank God this Aboki okada Rider will have taken over Lagos if not this ban thank you Mr Governor
Yea this such a nice move from d governor about two weeks ago while coming from ajah exactly at admiralty a foolish hausa okada rider suddenly bump at d front of our bus instead of him to apologise he came down from his bike and started fighting d conductor of d bus I boarded
But you can’t ban airplane or airlines because of one plane crash . Did he consider the heavy traffic congestion before making this Law ? How will the common man who have taken to motorcycle riding feed himself and family? Trust me people this same okada banned would be used for election campaigns during election. Confused government!!!
Yes, you can decommission an aircraft (eg, Concorde) and an airline because of a crash. Nonetheless, it is NOT just one incident. It may be the first fatality but certainly not the first such incident (and many of these folks HATE female car drivers). Furthermore, there were over 600 Okada accident fatalities in Lagos in 2019 (the most recent available statistics).
Meanwhile, these Okada drivers are free to relocate to other cities (Lagos already has BRT, Last-Mile buses, Danfo, water ferries, and soon light rail) – or perhaps try farming! In a nation that desperately needs as many able-bodied persons as possible in the agricultural value chain, finding alternative employment for folks would not be an issue if so many young Nigerians do not prefer to live in cities and to flex.
EKO O NI BAJE!
Please let consider the traffic problem in lagos ,this Okada riders hep to lessen stress on lagos Residence,EXAMPLE AGBONGBON HAVE BEEN FAULTY AND THE CONSTRUCTION WORK IS SO SO SLOW AND THE TRAFFIC ON THAT ROUTE IS TERRIBLE, MY OPINION .
There’s tricycle bro which is safer. No need for okadas….
When election is near, they will relax the ban as usual and we are are back to status-quo. No be 2day monkey dey chop banana!
Look at that picture. NOT A SINGLE CRASH HELMET in sight! Smh
It will only hit the poor man badly and leave the rich to flex at the expense of others.