OKADA RIDERS SHUN GOVT'S BAN, RETURN TO RESTRICTED LAGOS ROAD.(PHOTO).

Okada riders shun govt’s ban, return to restricted Lagos road

Commercial motorcyclists have returned fully to the major road around Ojodu Berger Area of Lagos State despite that the route is one of those the state government has placed a ban on their activities.

PUNCH Metro reports that motorcycle riders have turned a section of Alhaji Kosoko Street in the area to their park, therefore making movements difficult for motorists.

Our correspondent, who visited the road on Wednesday, noticed that a large portion of the road was occupied by Okada riders.

A resident, Ojo Bakare, lamented the activities of the okada riders in an interview with PUNCH Metro.

Bakare said, “The state task force and LASTMA often disperse these bike men and some of them get arrested, but this has not been able to stop them. The government should provide a park for them, so people will go there to board motorcycles, with this, the road would no longer be congested.

Another resident who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Where they were supposed to use as a park, they were asked to vacate the place, so they do not have anywhere to stay than the place and that is the cause of the problem we are facing. They should find another place for them.”

Another resident described the activities of the okada riders as disturbing.

 “They are disturbing us and LASTMA men tried their best to send them away, but they refused to leave.

“There is no available land space that the government can allocate to them for their transportation business,” he said.

A pedestrian identified as Gillian, said, “They cause nuisance on the road, some of them will just park their bikes anyhow and dominate the road. Road agencies should be deployed on the road to ensure orderliness.”

When contacted, the Director, Public Affairs for the Lagos State Taskforce, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, said Okada has been banned in the state but that enforcement in that side of the state had been difficult because of its closeness to Ogun State.

He said, “Ojodu is a border town, so some okada riders are using the neighbouring state as camouflage whenever we want to arrest them. This has been hindering our work in that area because we would not want to overstep our boundaries.

“We will try as much as possible to develop another strategy, we will surely work on the congestion.”