The Lagos State Government, through the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), has launched a comprehensive, State-wide 24-hour traffic management operation and a multi-agency urban regeneration enforcement drive across major corridors and nightlife zones.
The strategic intervention, which is designated “Operation Ember Months Stability,” is designed to ensure seamless vehicular mobility, enhance public safety, and enforce environmental rectitude in anticipation of the traditional surge in movement during the festive season.
This disclosure is contained in a statement signed by the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, where he noted that the agency has deployed its personnel to critical traffic intersections, corridors, and nightlife hubs, guaranteeing round-the-clock operational coverage.
Bakare-Oki said that this amplified presence on major arterial routes – including Ikorodu Road, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Lekki-Epe Corridor, and Agege Motor Road – aims to actively ameliorate gridlock, discourage road indiscipline, and heighten safety consciousness among motorists and commuters during the heightened travel period.
He averred that LASTMA’s operational expansion will be complemented by a multi-agency task force, coordinated by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Hon. Sola Giwa, which has also embarked on a significant urban regeneration and environmental rectitude enforcement operation.
250 Illegal structures demolished
Bakare-Oki revealed that LASTMA, in collaboration with other agencies, demolished over 250 illegal shanties, removed abandoned vehicles and evacuated makeshift encampments that obstructed vehicular movement as well as created security challenges.
He said, “LASTMA, in collaboration with agencies like Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), LAMATA, the Nigeria Police, LAWMA, and the Public Works Corporation, conducted a sweeping clearance exercise at Apapa, Ijora, and Costain under-bridges. The operation resulted in the demolition of over 250 illegal shanties, the removal of derelict vehicles, and the evacuation of makeshift encampments that severely obstructed vehicular passage and created security vulnerabilities.
“Notably, the discovery of a dummy firearm and several dangerous weapons concealed within a makeshift structure during the exercise underscored the urgent necessity of the enforcement action and validated the State Government’s resolve to preserve safety and public order.
“More so, to ensure sustained vehicular fluidity in the newly reclaimed areas, all commercial bus operators who previously engaged in illegal roadside loading around the cleared under-bridges have been systematically relocated to designated parks and terminals.’’
According to him, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has been directed to immediately assume control of all newly cleared open spaces, integrating them into the State’s mass transit infrastructure, particularly within the Ijora transport corridor, to foster orderly transportation and aesthetic urban renewal.
Also, the LASTMA boss informed that the authority’s institutional readiness was demonstrated through the swift and coordinated intervention of its Rescue Team at the scene of a multiple heavy-duty truck collision along Kara Bridge on Wednesday, September 29, 2025 – a tragic incident that claimed six lives.
He stated that the deployment of high-capacity recovery and towing apparatus prevented additional fatalities and mitigated a resultant traffic paralysis that extended to the Third Mainland Bridge corridor.
Bakare-Oki pointed out that a similar prompt response was executed for another articulated truck crash at the Otedola Bridge on Thursday, September 30, 2025, ensuring full traffic restoration.
What you should know
In a related development, the Lagos State Government had assured residents along the Eti-Osa–Lekki–Epe Expressway corridor that it is taking steps to ease the perennial traffic gridlock in the area, with the commencement of rehabilitation of the roads.
The project, which will cover the stretch from Admiralty Junction to the Jubilee Bridge in Ajah, is aimed at improving traffic flow and enhancing road safety along the busy corridor.
During a stakeholders’ meeting held to discuss the rehabilitation plans, residents and community representatives, amongst other requests, called for the temporary opening of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Road, to ease congestion that may be compounded when the rehabilitation work begins.
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