Gridlock: Ambode appoints retired police AIG to strengthen LASTMA

Moved by continuing public outcry against traffic gridlock in Lagos and its devastating effect on the economy of the state, the state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has appointed Christian Olakpe, a retired assistant inspector general (AIG) of police as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).

LASTMA is the state government’s agency saddled with the responsibility of managing and controlling vehicular traffic in Nigeria’s commercial city. It does this in collaboration with other federal agencies like the Nigeria Police and sometimes the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

There has been noticeable relaxation of enforcement of traffic flow in Lagos since the governor issued a directive to LASTMA to desist from hopping into people’s vehicles but be civil in the enforcement of traffic laws.

Recalcitrant motorists, especially commercial bus drivers, seem to have misinterpreted the governor’s directive to mean that LASTMA should not enforce traffic laws in the state. The consequence of the misinterpretation has been unprecedented traffic gridlock in all parts of the metropolis, as LASTMA is seen showing weakness as motorists drive one-way and break traffic laws with impunity.

But in a move to strengthen LASTMA’s operations, Ambode on Monday named Olakpe as the new head of the agency. The appointment, according to a statement by Habib Aruna, the governor’s chief press secretary, is in response to the consistent complaints by the public on the situation of traffic on the streets of Lagos.

Ambode, it would be recalled, had approved the appointment of a new general manager for the authority, but the decision to appoint a seasoned former AIG as the CEO was said to have been necessitated by the fact that the impetus expected with the previous appointment was not fully actualised due to the docile nature of the headship of the authority.

Olakpe is a graduate of sociology and anthropology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos. He joined the police in 1982 and rose to the rank of AIG before retiring in 2014.

JOSHUA BASSEY