Impressed by the drastic drop in crime in 6 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 9 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state, Lagos State Government has revealed that it is considering a total ban on the operations of commercial motorcycles in all the local government areas (LGAs) in the state.
This was made known by the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, while speaking at a stakeholder’s forum organised to review the ban on commercial motorcycles in parts of the state.
The ban had taken effect from the beginning of the second half of the year restricting Okada riders from plying six local government areas in the state – Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Surulere, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, and Apapa and nine local government councils areas
Omotosho said that with the results of the ban on their activities in the 6 local government areas in the state, Lagos residents had been calling on the state government to expand the ban to other areas.
He said, “Some people have suggested that the ban should be state-wide, considering the present anxiety over security.’’
The commissioner pointed out that the idea behind the forum is for stakeholders to take stock of the government decision on the ban and agree on the next step to take.
He recalled that some people were initially critical of the ban because they had not witnessed the havoc some of the Okada riders caused in the areas of health and security.
He said, “Residents were being robbed of their belongings by robbers who used motorcycles to flee scenes of crimes.
“Our public hospitals were being filled with victims of Okada accidents, doctors had their hands full at Emergency wards, and hoodlums who rode unregistered motorbikes posed great security risks.”
The commissioner said all stakeholders now have the opportunity to make suggestions on what steps the government should take on the matter.
In his address, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde said that the ban had recorded significant successes and compliance adding that in the affected areas within the period under review, available records’ showed that crime and accidents had reduced drastically.
He said, “In the affected areas within the period under review, available records’ show that crime and accident rate reduced astronomically by 86 per cent and 63.7 per cent, respectively.
“While a total of 7,500 motorcycles were impounded and crushed accordingly.’’
He said that the rise in the level of insecurity nationwide has made it imperative to review the impact of the ban on motorcycles in parts of the state and further steps to protect the people.
His words, “The Federal Government is presently considering the total ban of motorcycle operations across the federation as most of these underground activities are been enhanced with the use of motorcycles.
“Also, the attention of the state government has been drawn to the security threat parading the news across all socio-media platforms that some unscrupulous individuals are planning to attack the state.’’
