CITIZENS COMPASS– LAGOS State Government has said that the perssonnel of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) are not permitted to arrest motorists for alleged infractions on roads without clearly marked traffic signs.
Commissioner for Information and Strategy Gbenga Omotoso was reported saying the state government, through its ministry of transportation, undertakes routine surveillance of roads to ensure they are properly marked with necessary signs to guide motorists, and that traffic lights too are functional. He, however, noted that with the government’s best efforts, vandals frequently remove or deface installed signs on some of the state’s more than 9,000 roads.
In a recent interview with The Punch newspaper, Omotoso said installed traffic signs are often vandalised or stolen because the materials used in making them are criminally recycled to other ends. But the transportation ministry, according to him, has a dedicated team that goes round to see where traffic signs have been vandalised or defaced. “The team goes on to tell the ministry where road signs do not exist and where they should be. And not just road signs; this applies to traffic lights, too.” Where despite these efforts, there are no road signs necessary to guide motorists, it will be wrong for LASTMA officials to apprehend motorists for infractions, he said
