Thursday 30 August 2012

New Lagos Traffic Law now operational

The much-
awaited gazetting of
the new Lagos State
Road Traffic Law was
completed Thursday,
meaning its
implementation has
commenced 29 days
after Governor
Babatunde Fashola
signed the law.
The gazette, printed by
the Lagos State
Printing Corporation,
Ikeja, is titled; ”a law to
provide for road traffic
administration and
make provisions for
road traffic and vehicle
inspection in Lagos
State and other
connected purposes.”
To mark the law’s final
emergence, the state
Ministry of Rural
Development in
collaboration with its
Transportation
counterpart, yesterday,
held a special
stakeholders’ meeting
on the sensitisation of
the new road traffic
law with the
representatives of
Community
Development
Association, CDAs,
Community
Development Councils,
CDCs, traffic officers,
supervisory councillors
for Agriculture and
heads of departments
in the 20 Local
Government Areas and
37 Local Council
Development Areas,
LCDAs, community
leaders, in Ikeja, Lagos.
At the forum, the
Deputy Governor,
Adejoke Orelope-
Adefulire, who led
other top government
officials on the
occasion, told the
various groups in
attendance that the
new law has come to
stay, urging them to
comply with it and
ensure its proper
implementation in
their respective
domains.
The Attorney-General,
represented by Senior
Special Assistant on
Justice Sector Reforms,
Mr. Olarenwaju
Akinsola, also at the
meeting, explained:
“The new traffic law is
necessary taking
cognisance of the
emerging challenges
that come with the
mega-city status of
Lagos State. A law that
was made for about
300,000 in 1949
cannot in any way take
care of an astounding
population of 20
million today. This
situation makes the
law necessary”.
According to him, since
1949, the law has been
reviewed seven times.
We are just calling it a
new law. But there are
provisions of the 1949
version that are still in
the 2012 law. What is
now new is the
inclusion of
motorcycles and
tricycles, which were
not used for
commercial purposes
in 1949.
Akinsola, stated that
the new law had been
gazetted and that
government would
commence
enforcement of the law
anytime from now.
According to him, after
the law was signed by
the governor, it
became binding on all
but that the
government wanted to
sensitise the public
through advocacy,
which was why the
enforcement was
delayed.
Speaking at the
meeting, Chairman of
the House of Assembly
Committee on
Transportation, Hon.
Bisi Yusuf said the new
traffic law represented
the views, which he
said various interests
and groups expressed
at series of
stakeholders organised
by the legislative arm
before the law was
enacted.
Also speaking, the
lawmaker, who
represented Speaker of
the state House of
Assembly, Hon.
Adeyemi Ikuforiji, said
the law was not
imposed on the people
of Lagos as the
decision was arrived at
after due consultation
with various interest
groups as well as
transport unions,
thereby urging the
residents to make the
law work.
The Assistant
Commissioner of Police
Mr. Tunde Sobulo, who
represented the State
Commissioner of Police,
Mr. Ibrahim Manko,
gave unflinching
support of the Lagos
Police command for
the enforcement
stating that the state
command had been
making efforts to
restore sanity and
order of the state road
before the law was
enacted.

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