Motorists Pay N5,000 Not N25, 000 For Committing Traffic Offence In My LCDA, says Igando/Ikotun LCDA Boss

Mojisola Lawal

The Chairperson of Igando-Ikotun LCDA, Hon Morenike Adeshina Williams said her administration imposes fine of N5, 000 and not N25, 000 on traffic offenders to deter them from violating traffic rules and killing innocent road users in the LCDA.

Hon. Williams told newsexplorersng.com that driving against the traffic is an offence in the LCDA and for any offender; toll ticket is issued to be paid as a fine.

She said, “We have heard many cases of motorists through reckless driving kill innocent traders and road users. So, when I came on board, we decided to impose a fine of N5, 000 on any erring motorist caught driving against the traffic. With this, we believe they would desist from such indiscipline.”

Responding to questions on whether the LCDA is not running a parallel traffic law alongside the State traffic law, the Council Boss said, her council is in no way running a parallel traffic law.

According to her, they operate to complement the efforts of LASTMA personnel who are in limited number in the LCDA.

She added that whenever any car is impounded for traffic offence such car is taken to the State for prosecution.

“The people operating here are not LASTMA. It is true we don’t have adequate LASTMA personnel at the LCDA.

At the same time, it will be cruel of us seeing our people being knocked down by vehicles and dying almost every day and not do anything that is why we constituted the committee to manage the traffic and ensure that motorists behave responsibly” she said.
Contrary to her submission, a top council official who preferred anonymity said the touts that operate at the Igando-Ikotun LCDA work for the council boss.

According to him, the touts earn minimum of N50, 000 weekly from which they settle the council boss and this made it impossible for anyone to send them away from that spot.

“Those touts you see outside the LCDA harassing and cunningly extorting motorists are there not only for themselves but also for the interest of the council boss who they pay every week. Many times, they have been sent away but they return because they had the support of the council boss.

The funniest part of this is that what they collect did not get to the council purse but the Chairman of the LCDA is part of the misdeed.
To further compound this issue, LASTMA and police officers too have also joined forces with these touts to extort motorists. They would deceive motorist to park at a spot and clamped his/her car and made them pay N25, 000 as fine on each car.

I don’t want to be seen as an antagonist that is why I kept quite. They enjoy the backing of the Council Boss, if not, where did they get the revenue receipts they issue out? Let us admit they printed it by themselves, on whose authority did they do this? The council boss cannot feign ignorance of this. Although they had been sent packing, I know they will soon resurface at the spot to continue to obtain the public.”

When contacted to react to the allegation that the illegal traffic toll collectors are working for her, the council boss said, “They are not working with the council. I wasn’t the one that put them there. They have been there before my administration and my instruction to them when I assumed office is that they should maintain sanity on that road.

I want to believe they are there on their own but I am telling you they are not from Igando-Ikotun LCDA. These people are everywhere.
We had a meeting with my executive members and we have instructed the police to take over the entire road. So the police have taken over and they are no longer there.”

She explained further “I was in Abuja when someone called me that her car was impounded.

I told her to give the telephone to those that arrested her for me to intervene but instead of doing this, she started raining curses and using vulgar languages and eventually hang up on me.

I was shocked with her reaction. I told the Supervisory councillor to impound the car and we would take it to the State but they said they gave her N10,000 ticket but she eventually paid N5,000 to get her car released.

When I heard about this, I was furious. I have warned them that nobody should pay above N5,000 because money is not easy to come by and also it is to stand as a deterrent to them.”

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