By CHIAZO OGBOLU

The Special Adviser to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Transportation, Mr Sola Giwa, says the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) will provide 24/7 support on major corridors during the Ember months.

Giwa disclosed this at LASTMA Ember Months Stakeholders Forum held on Tuesday in Lagos.

The forum had the theme, “Safer Roads, Safe Lives… LASTMA Cares”.

Giwa noted that the Night Rapid Response Gang of LASTMA were inaugurated with the task to respond swiftly to breakdowns, crashes, and obstructions ensuring minimal disruption to traffic flow.

“We have made provisions that from Oct. 23, LASTMA will be doing 24-hour traffic operations for all our roads, especially those areas that will have high flux of people due to end of the year traffic.

“This is not the first time we are doing this, we did it last year in December but this year, as a proactive government we are starting early in October to run till January,” he said.

He said for 2025 Ember months, LASTMA would adopt other multi-layered operational plans to ensure safe mobility across all five divisions across Lagos.

Giwa expressed plans to include advocacy and public sensitisation, input enforcement which had to do with compliance enforcement, e-enforcement, enhanced field deployment, and inter-agency collaboration.

He said the flag off of another Ember Month campaign reaffirmed the shared commitment to a safer, saner, and smarter Lagos.

“Every resident deserves a city where movement is safe, predictable, and efficient,” he said.

Giwa said data showed that by managing congestion and preventing gridlock, a single LASTMA officer helped to save an average of ?85 million in man-hour losses annually.

“When multiplied by our total strength, this translates to over ?430 billion in economic value every year, a contribution that directly supports Lagos’ Gross Domestic Product of about ?41 trillion and sustains productivity across commerce, logistics, and mobility.

“Our officers are not just traffic managers; they are economic stabilisers, frontline ambassadors of order, and protectors of human lives,” he said.

Also speaking, the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, said the authority was well prepared for the 24-hour operations.

“It is not a new thing for us, we did it last year but we want to start in October. We should be able to do the needful because all arrangements are in place.

“We have deployed enough personnel and our recovery vehicles to ensure we respond to any emergency on the road,” he said.

Bakare-Oki said they would also embark on advocacy programmes and are available on all social media handles to sensitise Lagos residents.

“Today, we saw children from both government and private schools display for us.

“This is a good mechanism to reach out to their parents and this will equally prepare them for the future for them to respect traffic rules and regulations,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that stakeholders present at the forum include the Nigerian Army, Police, the Federal Road Safety Corps, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, the National Union of Road Transport Workers, schoolchildren and others.

The event equally witnessed drama presentation by secondary schoolchildren from Lagos State Educational District. (NAN)