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.