We’ll sustain ban on okada, says Sanwo-Olu

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, says his government will sustain the restriction on motorcycles and tricycles in the state. 

Sanwo-Olu spoke when he inaugurated 14 commercial ferries at the Badore ferry terminal in Ajah, on Tuesday.

On February 1, the state government enforced the restriction on commercial tricycles and motorcycles in 15 local councils.

This generated different reactions with many criticising the government for failing to provide alternative plans to mitigate the effect of the ban on commuters.

The boats, which can reportedly take up to 40 to 60 passengers, will commute to Ikorodu, Ebute Ero, CMS, Badore and Ikoyi areas of the state.

The governor said the decision to ban motorcycle and tricycle riders in some parts of Lagos was in response to the concerns raised by the people where the operators ply.

He said no responsible government would allow security breach in the state and that the ban would be sustained for safety reasons.

He assured residents that the boats would be increased to 30 before the end of the year and about 500 buses would also be injected into the state transport system to ease the transportation problems.

“Let me tell you about the ban which we just enforced. We will sustain the ban on okadas and tricycles, mainly because of security and safety reasons, ” he said.

“Security and safety of citizens are paramount to any government. As a responsible government, we will not fold our arms and allow security breach in the state.

“We will continue to ensure the safety of our people on all fronts. There have been reports of serious security breaches and safety concerns in areas where these operators ply. We had to respond to these concerns because life and safety matter to this government.”

The governor added that water transportation was one of the “intermodal transportation tripods the state was committed to developing as a strategy to reducing congestion on the roads”.

The governor said there must be diversification “including the interconnectivity of the rail, road and water transportation systems” for the state to be a “functional smart city”.