…Bans illegal inter-state parks in metropolis
LAGOS Nigeria – Lagos State Government on Friday, says it has commenced the move to eradicate all illegal inter-state parks operating in the state.Disclosing this at a press briefing on Friday, the state Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Seun Osiyemi, said the state had commenced streamlining of all inter state parks within the metropolis, and only those accredited by the state government would be allowed to operate.
The commissioner said the move, which has commenced, was taken so as to allow the government monitor movement of passengers in and out of the state, and ensure their safety and security.
He said the accredited parks would have all the facilities required to meet up the demands of a decent park, such as – public toilets, entry and exit points; banning of sales of alcohol, drugs and marijuana.The commissioner said the first step to be taken by the state government was to accredit all the parks that meet the required standard. This, he says, would be display it on the web for the public to see.
He maintained that every information of passengers patronising the park shall be put in the manifest, which the state government would download into her portal, and in instance of any incident or accident, the state government would work on the information on her portal.
Osiyemi said “the essence of the sanitisation of the parks is to bring about a transportation system that everybody can rely on, and bring the state back to make sure everybody is well connected.” He, however, added that the job had been contracted to a consultant; noting that “what the state is keen about is sanity at the parks and not the pecuniary gain.”
According to the representative of the consultant, Olamide Afolabi, “a monitoring team has been set up to seal off any inter-state park that is not approved by the state government, and without emblem of approval.” He added that the consultant will also give the necessary assistance to upgrade any inter-state park that the passengers are conversant with, in ensuring it meets the standard required by the state government.
According to the Lagos State Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Road Transportation Workers, NURTW, Mr. Usman Teslim, “the union is in total support of transforming the manifest from analogue to digital, and the union has been part of the initiative since its inception.” He added that when fully implemented, everybody will be happy about it.
He stated that Lagos State chose to embarked on the initiative because the state appreciated the importance of transportation in Nigeria.Mr. Paul Okoghenun, who represented Public Transport Owners Of Nigeria, said the union was yet to reach a consensus on the new innovation, stressing that the way he saw the state government’s move “was an effort to eradicate illegal inter-state parks to the barest minimum.”
