The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) on Friday said it had come up with a 10-line agenda to upgrade its activities and promote effective traffic management in the state.
Mr Chris Olakpe, the Chief Executive Officer of LASTMA, made this known during his visit to the Lagos office of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said the agency’s commitment was to provide Lagos residents with a quality traffic control mechanism and to build good inter-personal relationships with other stakeholders in the state.
“When I assumed office I set up a 10-line agenda; I put it in motion.
“I saw that there was need to be visible and accessible. LASTMA agents must be at their point of duty and be visible, accessible to members of the public and to the commuters themselves.
“I also brought in the interplay of what I call collaboration with other sister agencies which part of the collaboration is what has brought us to News Agency of Nigeria.
“To collaborate with the media as part and parcel of the traffic management plan of LASTMA.
“And probably and most essentially, to ensure there is no friction between LASTMA, members of the public, security agencies like the military, i.e., the Army, Navy and Air Force and the Police in general.
“When I assumed office sometime in 2016, there was the rampancy of clashes of interest between members of the public and particularly the military and the police.
“That has since become a thing of the past because of deepening of collaboration with all these agencies.”
Olakpe said that he had also restored discipline and sanity among men of LASTMA by instituting the Provost Marshal Corp.
He also set up the Quarter Master Corps that would take care of the uniform and accessories of the men and ensured that they were always available for them to use particularly during the rainy season.
The LASTMA chief said that for the men to be corrupt-free, he also put in place the Surveillance Squad that would go round and monitor men of the agency as well as ensure that within the context of availability and possibility, they are not involved in corruption.
Olakpe mentioned that beside traffic control, he created an Intelligence Unit that would serve as a source of information and intelligence to the Police while at their duty post.
He said the era where people resisted arrest were over as the agency had the Protocol Unit, also known as Protocol of Arrest to resolve friction and ensure enforcement.
Olakpe said that First Aid and Ambulance had also been introduced to help casualties recoup until help comes, saying that the ambulance was to be moved round to monitor men on duty and be sure they were healthy.
He urged officers and men of LASTMA to be civil when carrying out their duties.
The LASTMA chief said that they were not civil masters but civil servants and must maintain civility when interacting with members of the public.
-PM NEWS
