29th April, 2015
Eromosele Ebhomele
Lawmakers at the Lagos State House of Assembly, western Nigeria have ordered that all trucks parked at the Lagos-Apapa Expressway be be removed with immediate effect.
The lawmakers lamented that the indiscriminate parking of the trucks used for conveying petroleum products have resulted in serious traffic gridlocks around the area and other link roads.
One of the lawmakers, Rotimi Olowo, who raised the motion during plenary, said the call for the removal of the tankers had become important in other to safeguard lives and properties of the residents of the state.
He urged his colleagues to call on the members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas, NUPENG, Workers and the police authority in the state to come to the aide of the state in this regard.
In his contribution, another lawmaker, Lanre Ogunyemi, said the traffic situation in the area calls for serious concern.
He explained that residents making use of the expressway often have tales of harrowing experiences that has been several condemned.
Ogunyemi observed that the state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had visited the area several times to appeal to the tanker drivers to maintain decorum and strict compliance with the State traffic Law.
He however lamented that this effort had only produce a temporary solution.
The lawmaker further said that though it is regrettable that the Federal Government had not taken any concrete step to abate the situation, the state government should do everything possible to redeem the situation and come to the aid of residents of the state by curtailing the unnecessary hardship that have affected both individual and the state’s economy, trade and business.
Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Lola Akande, in her submission, solicited for intensified enforcement of the state’s existing traffic law to bring the problem under control.
According to her, recalcitrant offenders should be made to face the law, just as she added that this could only be achieved if the enforcement machinery is strengthened to bring offenders to justice.
“The solution to the problems lies in effective enforcement of the State traffic law. If one offender is punished and prosecuted diligently according to the law, others will comply,” she said.
Other lawmakers agreed with Akande’s contribution.
The House then unanimously agreed on a resolution calling on the Commissioner of Police in the state as and as well other relevant agencies responsible for traffic management to enforce compliance with state traffic law and other relevant provision that would restore normalcy and orderliness to the route.