Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has ordered the removal of all abandoned vehicles parked indiscriminately under bridges across the state.
This came as Lagos State Traffic Management Agency, LASTMA, served a-Seven Day removal and compliance notice to owners of trucks and vehicles parked under Costain Bridge area of the state or risk being impounded and prosecution.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa and General Manager LASTMA, Bolaji Oregba, disclosed these on Monday, during an emergency meeting with stakeholders and management of the agency, held at Alausa, Ikeja Lagos.
According to Giwa, “Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s had declared zero tolerance for environmental abuse, illegal and indiscriminate dumping of refuse and defacing of the environment when he signed ‘Executive Order’ on traffic and sanitation.
“I can assure you that government will enforce this notice after the expiration of the seven days ultimatum beginning from today (Monday).”
While appealing to owners to comply, Giwa explained that the ‘Removal Notice’ became necessary in view of the rising incidences of recent security threat and attendants gridlock in identified areas which include, Costain, Apapa, Ajah, Lekki,” among others.
Oregaba in his address, expressed worries that “this is serving as hideouts for criminals, adding that the present nature of the environment allow criminals to escape police arrest.
He added that the State Government is committed to reducing the traffic incidence around the axes, hence, it has becomes important to remove every bottlenecks to such policy. He stated that the indiscriminate parking and abandonment of trucks on the road is inimical to that policy.
He warned the owners to remove them from the area before the expiration of the deadline, vowing that “there is no going back on this.”
According to LASTMA boss, “We are using this medium to warn owners of motorists parking under the bridge of Costain to vacate this area within seven days of grace because the act is in total violation to traffic laws of the state.
“Apart from violating the laws, this act can serve as haven to criminals and because of the security threat in the state we do not want to leave any stone unturned.
“Therefore, after the expiration of the seven days grace we are going to carry-out a total clean-up operation of the entire area and subsequently to other identified areas such as Ajah, Apapa, Lekki, Agege, Lagos Abeokuta Expressway, among others.. Please help us to put this information across to them because there is no going back on this exercise.”
Meanwhile, as a measure to end incidences of building collapse, the Lagos State Government has placed a temporary stop on the issuance of approval for additional floors as well as an amendment on already existing building floors across the state.
It said that the measure would help to checkmate haphazard physical development that had often resulted in the collapse of existing buildings and others under construction which had led to many deaths in Lagos.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Omotayo Bamgbose-Martins, disclosed the new development during a meeting with professional bodies including the Nigerian Institute of Architects, Nigerian Institute of Builders, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Council for the Regulation of Engineers in Nigeria among others.
Bamgbose-Martins, at the meeting to identify solutions to cases of collapsed buildings in Lagos, stated that the temporary stop on approval was part of the measures immediately introduced to drastically reduce cases of collapsed buildings after his redeployment to the ministry.
He said: “For now, building approvals will henceforth be based on numbers of floors applied for, from the inception of that building. We are going to discourage giving approvals for additional floors different from the numbers of floors that had earlier been approved when the construction works started originally. ”
The newly deployed commissioner disclosed that the mandate from the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was to end cases of collapsed buildings which he described as an embarrassment to the state considering its status globally.
Bamgbose-Martins also stated that efforts had been intensified to ensure anyone including government officials, responsible for cases of collapsed buildings were prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others planning to get involved in any unethical conduct.
He appealed for genuine attitudinal change on the part of government officials, building developers, professional bodies, members of the public, and other relevant stakeholders.
The General Manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, Gbolahan Oki, in his remarks, said that the present administration understands and recognizes the importance of civic engagement in achieving its policy thrust which was the reason for the discussion with stakeholders.
Oki said that the agency had concluded plans to embark on a massive awareness campaign on Building rights, using all available means of communication including social media, television, radio, and newspapers as well as continuous stakeholders’ engagement.