Lagos To Ban Okada Next Week, Police Sieze 480 Guns From Riders

THE Lagos State government is expected to launch a new transportation policy on Tuesday, with the governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, making a big announcement on okada operation in the state.

If he decides on a statewide ban, the direction in which everything is pointing is expected to follow in days ahead, with serious socio-economic and even political implications and consequences.

In an interview, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, gave hints to know that it is already morning for okada riders in the state who, over the time, had become notorious for deadly mob actions, jungle justice and societal nuisance.

• See Also: Lagosians Commend Sanwo-Olu On Okada Ban

According to findings, the state government will be  rolling out the first 500 First and Last Mile buses same day to ply the routes currently open to okada.

An official of the state Ministry of Transportation told Saturday Tribune that no okada must henceforth  be sighted in the Lagos metropolis  after the  launch, adding that the scheme signifies a total eradication of commercial motorcycle operation in the state. More than 300 okada have been reportedly impounded by the state authorities in the last three weeks in  preparation for the new scheme. According to the source, “as more buses are rolled out across routes in Lagos, that means okada is gone forever.”

Asked if the government is planning to engage some of the okada operators in the new initiative, the source said they were not part of the programme, adding that before now, they were asked to form themselves into cooperative under the National Union of the Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to see other  initiatives of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) they could key into but they allegedly refused.

It is estimated no fewer than 400,000 okada ply Lagos’ roads on a daily basis.

Spokesperson of LAMATA, Mr Kolawole Ojelabi, said more information about the new busses replacing okada on Lagos routes would be communicated by the time Governor Sanwo-Olu launches the initiative on Tuesday. Although this is not the first time  the state authorities would be pronouncing ban on okada in the metropolis, it is the first time an immediate alternative is being provided.

• See Also: Okada Ban: Mother Takes Daughter To School On Bicycle (Photo)