LAGOS-THE Lagos State Traffic Management Authority LASTMA has said that no fewer than 9,370 vehicles were impounded for Traffic related offences in the state within the past six months. This was made known by the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department,  Adebayo Taofiq in a release made available to the Guardian. He noted that  of the impounded vehicles, 3, 034 belonged to private individuals while about 256 death were recorded in the months under review.

According to him, “The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has impounded 9,370 vehicles from January 2024 to June 2024 for alleged traffic violations. The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, confirmed this figure today during a meeting with relevant stakeholders in the transportation industry. Mr. Bakare-Oki further disclosed that 3,034 private vehicles were impounded, including 1,849 cars, 549 buses, and 636 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), among others. According to the General Manager, “256 casualties were recorded during this period.”

He urged the motoring public, especially motorists to obey all traffic rules and regulations and to respect traffic managers, adding,  “In the last six months, it has been a mix of good, bad, and ugly, but we have managed to overcome many challenges, particularly in training and retraining our personnel,” Bakare-Oki said. We have successfully trained 2,000 of our staff, both internally and externally.”He revealed that over 900 personnel were trained externally in collaboration with the training department of the Nigerian Police, Lagos Command. Additionally, more than 1,200 traffic officers received training from three different consultants on leadership skills, emotional intelligence, customer care, and incident management.

“We are undertaking these initiatives to improve our service delivery to Lagos residents. LASTMA aims to rebuild public confidence, particularly in public relations, he added.Mr. Bakare-Oki announced that the authority’s call center would be launched soon and would be toll-free, accommodating English, Yoruba, and Pidgin to facilitate feedback. Regarding enforcement, the General Manager highlighted that LASTMA began by clearing the Apapa Port area, conducting several operations to remove trucks and tankers parked indiscriminately along the Apapa route.

“Apart from the Apapa corridor and Iyana-Ipaja, we also cleared areas like Idumota, Apogbon, CMS, and the Lekki-Ajah axis, improving the level of orderliness in these areas. We have made significant strides across the five divisions in Lagos in terms of enforcement, and this effort is ongoing. We are committed to improving travel time for Lagos residents, especially during peak periods. We are therefore,  taking all necessary measures to enhance traffic management in the state, including the deployment of over 2,000 traffic equipment.’