LAGOS DECLARES 24-HOUR TRAFFIC CONTROL, CRACKS DOWN ON ILLEGAL STRUCTURES AHEAD OF FESTIVE SEASON
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has launched a comprehensive, State-wide 24-hour traffic management operation and a multi-agency urban regeneration enforcement drive across major corridors and nightlife zones.
Designated "Operation Ember Months Stability," the strategic intervention is designed to ensure seamless vehicular mobility, enhance public safety, and enforce environmental rectitude in anticipation of the traditional surge in movement during the festive season.
A statement signed by the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, noted that the agency has deployed its personnel to critical traffic intersections, corridors, and nightlife hubs, guaranteeing round-the-clock operational coverage. This amplified presence on major arterial routes - including Ikorodu Road, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Lekki-Epe Corridor, and Agege Motor Road - aims to actively ameliorate gridlock, discourage road indiscipline, and heighten safety consciousness among motorists and commuters during the heightened travel period.
Bakare-Oki averred that, complementing the operational expansion, is a multi-agency task force, coordinated by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Hon. Sola Giwa, which has also embarked on a significant urban regeneration and environmental rectitude enforcement operation.
In his words, “LASTMA, in collaboration with agencies like Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), LAMATA, the Nigeria Police, LAWMA, and the Public Works Corporation, conducted a sweeping clearance exercise at Apapa, Ijora, and Costain under-bridges. The operation resulted in the demolition of over 250 illegal shanties, the removal of derelict vehicles, and the evacuation of makeshift encampments that severely obstructed vehicular passage and created security vulnerabilities.
“Notably, the discovery of a dummy firearm and several dangerous weapons concealed within a makeshift structure during the exercise underscored the urgent necessity of the enforcement action and validated the State Government’s resolve to preserve safety and public order.
“More so, to ensure sustained vehicular fluidity in the newly reclaimed areas, all commercial bus operators who previously engaged in illegal roadside loading around the cleared under-bridges have been systematically relocated to designated parks and terminals”.
According to him, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has been directed to immediately assume control of all newly cleared open spaces, integrating them into the State’s mass transit infrastructure, particularly within the Ijora transport corridor, to foster orderly transportation and aesthetic urban renewal.
In a similar vein, the GM informed that LASTMA's institutional readiness was demonstrated through the swift and coordinated intervention of its Rescue Team at the scene of a multiple heavy-duty truck collision along Kara Bridge on Wednesday, September 29, 2025 - a tragic incident that claimed six lives. The deployment of high-capacity recovery and towing apparatus prevented additional fatalities and mitigated a resultant traffic paralysis that extended to the Third Mainland Bridge corridor. A similar prompt response was executed for another articulated truck crash at the Otedola Bridge on Thursday, September 30, 2025, ensuring full traffic restoration.
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