The Lagos State House of Assembly has frowned at the recklessness of some motorists operating in the state and activities of some officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).
To this end, the House, at plenary today presided over by the Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, invited the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Hon. Sola Giwa, to appear before it.
The Speaker, while noting that incidents involving recklessness of drivers and careless attitudes of LASTMA officials were on the increase, said, in addition to the invitation of the affected top officials, there was a need to revisit the laws guiding transportation in the state.
He also supported suggestions by the Majority Leader, Noheem Adams, and another lawmaker, Gbolahan Yishawu, that modern technology be added by the government in the cleaning of roads in the state, but said it was necessary to accommodate the sweepers, who, he argued, were employed to earn a living and assist their families.
In the meantime the House of Assembly may dust up the law regulating transportation to address the problem of alleged multiple taxations by various unions in the sector.
Hon Obasa gave the hint following a motion raised by Hon. Adewale, over a recent protest against alleged extortion by the transport unions in Lagos.
“This alleged extortion affects our people generally and looking at the economic condition of the country, we need to intervene. We must be able to define the paths that these unionists have to tread so that they do not make life unbearable for the people.
“At every bus stop, they collect money causing traffic snare. At the end, the man making the payment would go home with nothing and to avoid this, he has to put the weight on the commuters.
“We must avoid a situation where people would be moved to take laws into their hands. We need to extract seriousness out of this situation. Where there is a law, there will be penalties,” he said while calling for the engagement of candidates recently interviewed for recruitment into the Neighbourhood Safety Corps to expand the security network in the state.
The House resolved to invite the transport unions in the state for discussion.
