22nd June, 2012
The Lagos State Government has ordered over 100,000 commuter bus drivers and other professional drivers in Lagos State to go to any of its drivers’ institute to get recertification or stop driving in the state.
The government said commuter bus drivers, companies drivers, school bus drivers, those who drive private individuals and every driver who earns a living through driving must be recertified, saying that it had commenced clampdown on such drivers with a bid to make them comply.
Commissioner for Transportation, Kayode Opeifa, who toured the Lagos State Drivers’ Institute, LASDRI in Oshodi, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on Thursday, said henceforth, anyone caught driving a company’s vehicle without certification would be fined N250, 000 while commercial bus drivers without certification would be fined N50,000.
According to Opeifa, the state government had been sensitising commuter bus drivers and others on the need to get certified by LASDRI for the past two years, saying that government was now ready to enforce the no certification, no driving law in Lagos State.
The commissioner stated that professional drivers must be certified by the institute on yearly basis, saying that the drivers would be trained and tested for a day and that if they passed, they would be issued certificate of competency.
Opeifa said because of the urgency of the matter, he had invited the executives of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW to the drivers’ institute to be trained and recertified so that they would compel their members to urgently get certified at any of the five drivers’ institutes in the state.
He stated that the government would soon invite proprietors of schools to the institute and let them see the need why they must send their drivers to get certified.
Opeifa said government was interested in the safety of lives on the road, saying that the drivers who were entrusted with such task must be certified as professionals according to the Lagos State Traffic Law 2008.
“For four years, we have been campaigning and slowly enforcing the rule. We are now ready to enforce it seriously. We have spoken with transport unions, companies and other stakeholders on the need to comply with the new regulation.
“Giving your vehicle to a professional driver that is not certified is an offence by both the owner and the driver. With this new measure, we hope to reduce road accidents in this state by 50 per cent by 2015,” he said.
Chief Executive Officer, LASDRI, Ayodeji Oyedokun disclosed that since inception of the institute, at least 18,000 drivers had been trained, despite the fact that many had not turned up to get certified and trained.
According to him, “the institute offers mandatory, rehabilitation and instructors’ courses’ for new drivers, those who committed offences and those who would train others. Private vehicle owners can also come here to upgrade their driving skill and knowledge of roads by voluntarily enrolling for rehabilitation course.”
—Kazeem Ugbodaga