Stakeholders in the transport sector have expressed divergent opinions over outright ban on motorcycle and tricycle operations in Lagos State.
Speaking at a Public Hearing on A Bill for a Law to Consolidate all Laws Relating to the Transport Sector, the stakeholders called for restrictions of motor cycles and tricycles from highways instead of outright ban.
The the public hearing was organised on Tuesday by the Lagos State House of Assembly Ad hoc Committee on Transportation.
Section 35 of the Bill states that “A person shall not ride, drive or propel a cart, wheelbarrow, motorcycle or tricycle on any road within the state.
“A person who fails to comply with any of the provision of this section commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to: Imprisonment of for a term of three years or to any non-custodial sentence; and have his vehicle forfeited to the state.’’
According to the proposed bill, where a rider is convicted for an offence, the passenger shall also be liable to the same penalty provided the passenger is not a child.
In his contribution, Lagos State Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Hyginus Omeje, called for affirmative statement on the position of the proposed law on the ban of motorcycles and tricycles in the state.
The FRSC official said that the state might need to build more prisons if the traffic offences that attract three years imprisonment in the bill were to be implemented.
Head of Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Mr. Peter Fosudo, said the bill should categorise the roads where commercial motorcycles and tricycles could operate.
Fosudo, who called for restrictions of motor cycles and tricycles from highways instead of outright ban, called for heavy fines for defaulters.
Biodun Mike Hundeyin, Solicitor for National Union of Road Transports Workers (NURTW), said that an outright ban on commercial motorcycles and tricycles would be counterproductive to economic activities in the state.
The solicitor noted that the development would compound the state’s unemployment problem, saying that the primary mode of transport in Badagry area, for instance, was commercial motorcycle.
Lagos State Chairman, Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria, Prince Joseph Odusanya, also opposed the proposed ban.
“If Okada is being banned, tricycles should be an alternative means of transportation. Let’s consider the hardship this might bring to the people and the economy of the state,’’ he said.
A don, Prof. Iyiola Oni, who commended efforts to consolidate all transport laws in the state, said that the greatest problem in the transport sector was institutional disorderliness.
Oni, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, said that the relationship between the transport agencies should be well clarified, saying that the state needed an integrated and intermodal transport system.
The academic, who called for a comprehensive data base, said that road transportation had been emphasised over other means of transport.
He urged the House to look into blockages of inners roads by landlords and religious organizations as well as cutting of roads by communication industries.
Mr Albert Omotayo from the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), said that the number offences were unrealistic and should be reduced.
Reviewing the law, the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa said: “We arrived at this bill by looking through laws that have to do with transport system in the Lagos state.
“We overhaul all laws in transport system in conformity with best global standard practices. We codify to ensure that there is no overlap in such a way to bring friction and conflict’’.
On proposed outright ban of motor cycles and tricycles in the state, Obasa, who was represented by the Majority Leader, Mr Sanai Agunbiade, said the House would do its best to satisfy the masses.
However, Agunbiade, urged all stakeholders to comply with the rules to make Lagos attain smart city status.
He called on the Ministry of Transportation to do more on locking of gates by some landlord associations at a time when the gates were meant to be open.
“We recognise the need for security, but so many streets now block their gates in the day time. People do it indiscriminately with impunity,’’ he said. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Dr Taiwo Salaam, said that the state needed to improve its transport system to enhance security and safety of commuters.
“It is an aberration for a state like Lagos to support usage of Okada as a means of transportation; many of them (operators) unleash terror on the people.’’
Earlier in his welcome address, Chairman of the Adhoc Committee on Transportation, Mr. Fatai Mojeed said that the reform would make transportation better and more effective in the state.
The bill harmonises vehicle inspection office (offences and penalties), Traffic Offences and Penalties and Lagos Bus Services Limited.
Others include Lagos State Ferry Services, Lagos State Traffic Sector Reform Law (Road Traffic) Regulations, and Lagos State Traffic Sector Reform Law (Taxi Operations) Regulations.
The rest are Agencies and Departments under The Ministry and Protocol for Traffic Law Enforcement. (NAN)