By The governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has announced an indefinite ban on the operations of of commercial motorcycles popularly called Okada, in six Local Government Areas of the state.
Sanwo-Olu made this known on Tuesday, at a meeting with the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, and other senior police officers held at the State House in Alausa, Ikeja.
The affected six local governments include Ikeja, Surulere, Eti-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island, and Apapa.
According to the governor, the decision was reached in order to immediately address the chaos and menace created by the operations of Okada in the listed areas, adding that it was in line with the State’s Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018.
“After a critical review of our restriction on Okada activities in the first six Local Government Areas where we restricted them on February 1, 2020, we have seen that the menace has not abated. We are now directing a total ban on Okada activities across the highways and bridges within these six Local Government and their Local Council Development Areas, effective from June 1, 2022,” he said.
“This is a phased ban we are embarking on this period, and we expect that within the short while when this ban will be enforced, Okada riders in other places where their activities are yet to be banned can find something else to do. We have given the notice now and we expect all commercial motorcycles plying the routes in the listed councils and areas to vacate the highways before enforcement begins. The enforcement will be total.”
The ban comes days after some commercial motorcyclists lynched a sound engineer identified as David Imoh in the Lekki axis of Lagos state following a misunderstanding over N100 balance.
