Commuter Bus Operators Seek Fashola’s Intervention

Commuter bus drivers in Ikeja area of Lagos State have appealed to the Lagos State government to curb the excesses of officials of the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO).

The drivers in a Save Our Soul message to the state governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, lamented that “VIOs are making life difficult for commuter bus operators in Lagos.”

They accused the VIOs of always visiting the Ikeja Motor Park on Awolowo Way, Ikeja, beside Ikeja Local Government secretariat and towing away vehicles parked there.

“We believe the duty of VIO is to arrest and sanction drivers that violate traffic laws on the highways, but in this case, these VIOs stormed our park with armed policemen to impound our vehicles parked there under the disguise that they are rickety vehicles.

“We told them that the vehicles parked there were been repaired but they insisted on towing the vehicles to their yard. They asked the owners to bring panel beaters to affect repairs in their yard.

“We reacted, but the armed men with them threatened to shoot our men. It is our belief that the VIOs can only arrest vehicles on the highways not in the park. In fact, these set of VIOs were not even interested in checking the vehicle papers,” the drivers stated in their letter.

The drivers appealed to the governor to call the VIOs to order to avoid a breakdown of law and order.

“We are law abiding citizens, but we would not agree to a situation where people will take us for granted,” they stated.

The drivers lamented that one of the commuter buses towed by the VIO was yet to be located. They gave the number of the bus as XA 361 KLK. “The bus is missing. We were at the VIO yard, but we could not locate the bus,” they added.