The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to restoring enduring traffic discipline and cultivating a more orderly, secure and seamlessly regulated transportation ecosystem across Lagos State, as the Ifako-Ijaiye Leaders of Thoughts Association paid a strategic courtesy visit to the Agency’s Headquarters in Oshodi to explore avenues for robust institutional collaboration.
The delegation, comprising eminent community leaders, professionals and distinguished stakeholders from Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area, commended the Agency for its resilience, operational dexterity and sustained interventions in mitigating traffic congestion despite the increasing complexities associated with urban mobility within Africa’s fastest-growing megacity.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki during the engagement expressed profound appreciation to the association for identifying with the Agency’s vision of engendering a culture of voluntary compliance with traffic regulations through sustained public enlightenment, strategic partnerships and civic responsibility.
According to the General Manager, the restoration of traffic sanity cannot be achieved solely through enforcement mechanisms but requires the collective commitment of residents, community-based organisations, traditional institutions, religious bodies, transport unions and other critical stakeholders.
He observed that the Sanwo-Olu administration remains resolutely committed to delivering a safer, smarter and more efficient transportation architecture, noting that LASTMA has continued to recalibrate its operational strategies through enhanced personnel training, technological innovation, intelligence-driven traffic management and intensified public sensitisation campaigns.
Mr. Bakare-Oki further emphasised that community participation remains indispensable in combating the growing incidence of traffic violations, indiscriminate parking, one-way driving road obstructions and other unlawful practices that continue to impede the free flow of vehicular movement across the State.
He assured the visiting delegation that LASTMA would continue to strengthen its engagement with Community Development Associations, professional bodies and civil society organisations in order to deepen public trust, improve compliance with extant traffic laws and foster a sustainable culture of responsible road usage.
Earlier in his remarks, the President of the Ifako-Ijaiye Leaders of Thoughts Association Chief Jonathan Tawose lauded the General Manager and his team for the remarkable transformation witnessed within the Agency under his leadership, describing LASTMA as an indispensable institution in the advancement of public safety, traffic orderliness and sustainable urban mobility in Lagos State.
He affirmed the association’s readiness to collaborate closely with LASTMA through community advocacy, grassroots sensitisation and strategic stakeholder engagement aimed at promoting adherence to traffic regulations and discouraging acts capable of undermining public order on the roads.
The association further pledged to serve as a veritable bridge between the Agency and residents of Ifako-Ijaiye by supporting initiatives designed to entrench traffic discipline, strengthen community participation and encourage responsible road behaviour among motorists, commercial transport operators and pedestrians alike.
The meeting culminated in a shared commitment by both parties to institutionalise continuous dialogue, expand collaborative public enlightenment initiatives and foster a mutually beneficial partnership dedicated to restoring sanity on Lagos roads in furtherance of the transportation agenda of the Lagos State Government.
Adebayo Taofiq
Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA
