LAGOS State government, on Sunday, debunked insinuations, especially in the social media, of a plan to review the state’s RoadTraffic Law 2012, as it concerns operations of commercial motorcycles (okada), saying it has no intention of reversing itself on the matter, as the law was made in response to popular public demand.
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Lateef Raji, the government emphasised that it had no plan, either now on in the near future, to reverse itself on the matter of okada operation in the state, pointing out that by that decision, considerable gains had been made in the area of protection of lives and property in the state.
Noting that the decision to regulate okada operation was not a unilateral one, the government maintained that it acted in response to the popular demand of the general public, who are at the receiving end of the fatalities of commercial motorcycle’s daily operations.
It reiterated that the Road Traffic Law did not ban okada operation in the state but restricted a category of motorcycles from operating on only 475 out of the 9,100 roads in the state, which represents 5.6 per cent of Lagos roads, adding that the result and impact of the decision had been tremendous.
According to the statement, an average of 16 deaths and 646 injured patients were being recorded at the state secondary and tertiary hospitals every month, as a result of motorcycle related accidents, adding that by March this year, the number had dropped to only two deaths and less than 100 injured victims of okada accidents a month.
It enjoined okada riders to go about their lawful duty by obeying the provisions of the law which, according to it, were made for their safety and that of the general public.
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