Thursday, the Lagos State Government extended a ban on commercial motorbikes, often known as Okada, to four more Local Government Areas (LGAs) and six Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu issued a directive on September 1, 2022, directing enforcement teams to properly execute the prohibition order and apprehend errant riders across the councils specified in the Okada ban.
The other local government areas are Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, Somolu, and Mushin. Ikosi-Isheri LCDA, Agboyi-Ketu LCDA, Isolo LCDA, Bariga LCDA, and Odi-Olowo LCDA are the Development Area Councils.
Three months have passed since Sanwo-Olu issued a total ban on Okada in six LGAs, including Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Surulere, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, and Apapa, as well as LCDAs that fall under them.
This takes the total number of councils prohibiting Okada activities to 25 out of 57.
Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladehinde, announced the ban at a press conference held at the Government secretariat in Alausa. He stated that the extension of the proscription order was a move by the State Government to sustain the gains recorded in the ongoing action against Okada operations in the State.
The commissioner said that accidents and deaths using Okada motorcycles had decreased by 63.7% in the 15 local councils where the first phase of the ban had been implemented, emphasising that the prohibition had also drastically reduced the number of crimes involving motorbikes.
This, according to Oladehinde, led to Tuesday’s decisions at a Stakeholders Forum with interest groups, in which the attendees unanimously requested the government to implement the Okada ban state-wide.
He said: “The Ministry in conjunction with the inter-ministerial committee on Okada, having critically accessed these resolutions and the challenges of Okada operations on the security architecture of the State, recommended to Mr. Governor not to go back on the already laid down phase ban in a bid to sustain the gains.
“Based on the apparent positive impact of the ban and the resolution of the Stakeholders’Forum, Mr. Governor has approved the ban of Okada in another four LGAs and their respective five LCDAs for the second phase of the total ban, in addition to the on-going ban in the six LGAs and their respective LCDAs.”
The State Government urged citizens to use other modes of transportation, adding that the State had offered safe and sustainable First- and Last-Mile Transport Scheme, BRT Scheme, e-hailing cab Scheme, and other acceptable means for commuters’ safety.
Oladehinde claimed that 7,500 motorbikes had been seized and destroyed as a result of the continuing enforcement, while opposition had decreased significantly. He issued a harsh warning to riders who would disobey the prohibition order, emphasising that the prohibition will be strictly enforced.
The Commissioner said that the State Government has taken measures to provide impacted Okada riders with alternate sources of subsistence. He asked them to participate in the intervention programmes organised by six government ministries and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF).
He said: “It is important to reiterate the State Government’s commitment to the safety, security of lives and properties in the State. In exercising this, any motorcycle impounded will be crushed and the process will be made public.
“Both riders and passengers arrested on proscribed routes will be made to face the full wrath of the law in line with the provision of Section 46, sub-section 1, 2 & 3 of the Transport Sector Reform Law (TSRL), 2018.”
Gbenga Omotoso, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, said that the previous Tuesday’s meeting with stakeholders reviewed the enforcement action done since the absolute prohibition, noting that public comments prompted further steps to limit the operations of commercial motorbikes.
He said that Okada riding remained foreign to the State’s comprehensive transportation strategy.
The Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation will oversee the execution of the ban.