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Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on Monday signed into law a bill banning the blocking of roads for any form of social or commercial activities in any part of the state.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on Monday signed into law a bill banning the blocking of roads for any form of social or commercial activities in any part of the state.
The law entitled: Bill on Commercial Activities and Prohibition of Obstruction of Traffic, makes it an offence, for any person or group, to obstruct traffic on any road in the state as a result of social or commercial activities.
By the provision of the law, any body that obstructs a law enforcement agent of the state in the course of enforcing compliance to this law will be liable to a six-month jail term with an option of fine of N10, 000 or both.
In a brief ceremony before signing the bill, Fashola said the law was significant in many ways, adding that it tried to address the problem created by the people themselves by the way of life they have chosen for themselves.
He lamented: 'This is the only city or state in the nation where parties are held in the streets. I know of no other cosmopolitan city where this happens," adding that the law would also encourage the building of function halls in the state.
The governor said such function halls and events places would ensure that the people continued with the celebrations they have adopted as a way of life. 'We cannot throw away our culture but we can do it in a more orderly manner and increase our life expectancy," he said.
Fashola said the signing of the bill also re-enforced the commitment of his administration to bring to public domain every law passed by the state government and public information and knowledge why such law was passed, rather than do it in the confines of his office.
The governor, who said traffic management was a global phenomenon, declared: 'We have brought in traffic lights and LASMA, as well as the BRT all meant to solve traffic congestion to enable efficient flow of traffic."
On the law, Fashola declared: 'What the law offers us is that it throws some very serious questions about the continued efforts to build more roads. Roads play very critical role in our lives as a people. Traffic impacts on our life as a people, not only on our health, but also on the price and cost of living.
The efficiency of transmitting and transporting of goods and services is impacted upon by the efficiency or otherwise of traffic flow because how long a vehicle stays on the road and the fuel consumed affects the cost of goods which is passed to the final consumers."
The governor appealed to the people to cooperate with government by complying with the law, adding that it was one thing to sign the bill into law and another thing to get the people to understand the reason behind such law.
He also appealed to the police to remove the vehicles, which they packed on the roads in the various Divisional Police Headquarters saying the vehicles were causing obstruction to traffic.
The Governor lamented that the Agege motor road has become almost impassable, forcing motorists going to Mushin from Ikeja to move through Ilupeju thereby putting pressure on Ikorodu Road.
'We have blocked access routs with gates. Agreed there is security problem but rather than solve it we have created more problems for ourselves" he said.
He thanked the members of the State House of Assembly for their quick action on the bill and for their initiative and commitment to work with the Executive to solve the problem of traffic congestion or at least reduce it to a barest minimum.