Drivers and traders in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos have called on the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority to be stricter in the enforcement of the state traffic law.

They spoke on Thursday during a stakeholders’ meeting between LASTMA and residents of Lekki/Ajah.

The meeting, tagged ‘Resolving Traffic Challenges in the Lekki/Ajah Area,’ was meant to facilitate interaction between LASTMA officials and transport operators, residents and traders, among others.


 
The Babaloja of Ajah Ultra-Mordern Market, Mr. Fowowe Eshinlokun, said LASTMA should arrest roadside traders and hawkers, adding that they were not members of the market.

He said, “I have been begging them to leave the roadside and come into the main market. The market was built for the benefit of all.”

The branch Chairman, Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers, Eti-Osa branch, Mr. Taofiq Oluwa, said the activities of street hawkers and pedestrians who failed to use footbridges, constituted a nuisance, adding that the hawkers were responsible for the gridlock in the area.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of LASTMA, Mr. Christian Olakpe, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, said the agency had organised the forum to educate stakeholders on the importance of obeying traffic rules.

He said the agency was partnering with volunteers to make the enforcement of the state traffic law more encompassing.