Drainage blockage: Fashola orders demolition of Police Station

LAGOS — Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, ordered the demolition of Ladipo Police Station, in Mushin Local Government Area for obstructing drainage channels and ordered its relocation.

This came as Lagos State government, through the Ministry of Transportation, urged motorists and other road users along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway to exercise patience as traffic will continue to build up in the area due to the ongoing reconstruction work on the road.

Fashola, during an inspection tour of ongoing construction works in Badejo Kalesanwo Street and other road projects in Mushin area, gave the directive, saying: “The presence of the police station is hindering the timely completion of construction works on some of the roads.”

On the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway traffic, the state Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, appealed to motorists along the area to obey all traffic signs and personnel who have been drafted to the area to manage traffic as the road had been reduced to one lane to allow for the ongoing reconstruction work embarked by the Federal Government aimed at making the road motorable

However, Opeifa, speaking through Mr. Taiwo Abayomi, the Area Commander of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA in charge of the Mile-2 Zone, who had been on a 96- hour supervision exercise, announced that over 179 abandoned tankers and container vehicles were evacuated from various points since the commencement of evacuation exercise last Friday embarked upon by the state government following the expiration of a 48 hour ultimatum issued to owners of all abandoned and broken down tankers and heavy duty parked along the expressway to vacate.

A combined team of armed taskforce and LASTMA men swung into aggressive enforcement last Friday and impounded several trucks for flouting the state traffic rules.

The measure became necessary following the incessant traffic snarls as a result of several abandoned vehicles and broken down vehicles that spread along the road coupled with the on- going reconstruction of road project by the Federal Government.

The appeal, according Abayomi was expedient because the ongoing reconstruction work will continue to impede free flow of traffic as the two lanes had been reduced to one lane while a section of the road has been totally cordoned off for traffic movement to allow for unhindered reconstruction work.

“Therefore, pending the completion of the reconstruction work, we will like to appeal to motorists and other road users to obey traffic men on ground and obey all traffic signs and directions in order to keep the traffic flowing.” The LASTMA commander pleaded.

While saying that there was no cause for alarm, he expressed government regrets on any inconvenience the situation might cause saying, “there is need for sacrifice to be made on the part of all as there will be light at the end of the tunnel.”
It was gathered that most of the vehicles that were impounded during the exercise belong to Nigeria Port Authority, NPA which formed over 60 percent of total vehicles impounded so far.

Some of the evacuated vehicles were taken to NPA yard, while other were taken to LASTMA yard at Mile-2.