LASTMA inducts 100 volunteers to tackle Yuletide traffic

By Olasunkanmi Akoni The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has inducted more than 100 volunteers into its LASTMA Mayors traffic advocacy network to support efforts to manage anticipated traffic congestion during the Yuletide and year-end ‘Detty December’ celebrations. The investiture and induction ceremony, held at the agency’s headquarters in Lagos, was part of efforts to strengthen community participation in traffic management, promote voluntary compliance with traffic regulations and support enforcement officers along busy roads.

Speaking at the event, LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, said managing traffic in Lagos required collective responsibility rather than reliance on government enforcement alone. He said the newly inducted volunteers would strengthen public enlightenment campaigns and support field operations through grassroots advocacy, voluntary interventions and targeted sensitisation.

“Sustainable mobility governance relies on collective ownership, shared accountability, and the active participation of every citizen. “The enlistment of these LASTMA Mayors will substantially reinforce our public enlightenment architecture and augment field operations through voluntary interventions, grassroots advocacy, and targeted sensitisation,” Bakare-Oki said.

He described the volunteers as community ambassadors whose closeness to residents, commercial transport operators and market associations would help promote road discipline, particularly during the festive season. The LASTMA boss also appealed to Christian and Islamic leaders to use their platforms to reinforce road safety messages among their congregations.

“We are soliciting the strategic partnership of religious leaders to deploy their moral authority towards amplifying our road safety campaign. “Clerics, imams, and pastors should consistently incorporate messages of responsible motoring, pedestrian awareness, and strict adherence to traffic laws into their sermons and fellowship gatherings,” he said.

Bakare-Oki cautioned motorists against dangerous practices, including driving against traffic, popularly known as one-way, excessive speeding, reckless overtaking and indiscriminate parking. He also urged vehicle owners to ensure proper maintenance of their brakes, tyres, steering systems and lights before embarking on journeys. “The commercial excitement and social festivities associated with December must not degenerate into traffic indiscipline or preventable road tragedies,” he said, urging motorists to exercise patience and restraint.

Also speaking, LASTMA’s Director of Traffic Advocacy and Special Mayors, Mr Awoyemi Jimmy, assured residents that the agency would sustain operational surveillance and strategic deployment of officers along critical traffic corridors throughout the holiday season. The Coordinator of the State Mayors of Traffic (SMT), Mr Tajudeen Othman, pledged that the newly inducted volunteers would discharge their responsibilities with integrity and discipline, using their community networks to complement the state’s traffic management efforts.