How Jonathan's Men Sack LASTMA Officials In Lagos

What could have been a clash between two government traffic agencies was averted on Tuesday when some officials of the Federal Task Force and those of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA almost confront themselves.

According to a report on PMNEWS online, some operatives of the Federal Task Force on Tuesday prevented officials of LASTMA, from controlling traffic on federal roads in Lagos.

It was gathered that scores of the federal officials dressed in grey and black uniforms took control of traffic on toll gate and Ojota area while LASTMA officials had nothing to do.

The federal task force men, sponsored under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, were said to have arrived Ojota, in Ikorodu Road as early as 7am and took over from LASTMA officials,

Reports say the situation led to confusion in the area and almost resulted to a clash before the police intervened to salvage the situation.

* Federal task force officials

Reacting to the matter, a statement from the Lagos State Government and signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Aderemi Ibirogba described the federal task force officials as usurpers posing as traffic officials on Lagos roads.

The statement stated that the dressed in grey and black uniforms men caused confusion on Lagos roads in their attempt to take over the job of LASTMA.

It added that “It took the intervention of the Police from the Lagos Command, to get them off the road and return normalcy on the roads after about four hours of causing confusion, attempting to fight LASTMA and generally disturbing the peace of the areas”.

The commissioner appealed to the public to remain calm and go about their normal duties, no matter any form of provocation and or intimidation this faceless group or any other trouble makers may want to plunge them into.

*LASTMA officials

Kayode Opeifa, the Commissioner for Transportation in Lagos State, through a statement, called the federal task force men as illegal, saying their mission is to cause public disturbance as they did not have the backing or the support of the Lagos State Government.

However, Coordinator of the Task Force, Mr. Abdurazak Rafiu said the taskforce was not illegal and that they were not thugs, saying that the programme is under SURE-P, adding that 5,000 of them would be deployed to Lagos roads to control traffic.

Source: Legit.ng