Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) on Tuesday advised Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State not to reverse the ban on commercial motorcycles (Okada) and tricycles (Keke) which is in operation in the state.
He, however, faulted the state government for not putting measures in place to alleviate the pains of the masses that depend on these as their mode of transportation before the enforcement of the ban.
While faulting the timing, Sagay said the state government should have first cleared the buses which are still lying at the ports, put them on the roads before the announcement on the restrictions was made.
Speaking in a chat with Daily Independent, Sagay who lives and has his office in Lagos said though painful, the state government must have taken the decision in the interest of Lagosians as the Okada riders have constituted themselves to menace to other road users.
He said the state government must have considered the security of the state before embarking on the decision based on the nefarious activities of the Okada riders.
“The ban is right on principle. Lagos state government is not telling us everything. I always say that the government knows more than we do.
It is not every information available to them they will reveal to members of the public. Lagos state government must have seen some danger signals which makes them act before it is too late. That is my impression on the ban”.
“But I blame them that they did not take little more time to prepare for the consequences. Now they are saying that they have about 600 buses at the ports, they should have cleared those buses first before initiating the ban”.
“ They are a government body, they can accelerate the clearance of the buses within a week, put them on the roads and then go ahead with what they want to do”.
“I support the ban on principle. Apart from what I do not know and I am sure it has to do with the security of Lagos state people.
Apart from that, those Okada people are a threat to our existence. They don’t obey any law, they cross red lights”.
