Truck owners and drivers will now heave a sign of relief as the Lagos state government, on Friday, suspended the operations of ad-hoc teams of the Committee on Removal of Abandoned Vehicles (RAVC), operating in all council areas with immediate effect.
Recall that truck owners under the aegis of Council of Maritime Truck Unions and Association (COMTUA), have complained about the activities of the ad-hoc committee, accusing them of extortion and high-handedness.
But, in a press statement by the commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, and a copy made available to BUSINESSINSIDERNG, he said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, suspended the operations of the ad-hoc teams in all the 20 Local Governments (LGs) and 37 Local Council Development Area (LCDAs) of the state.
According to him, the suspension was as a result of several complaints of extortion and harassment of members of the public by RAVC.
“The development has caused embarrassment to the State Government despite several reviews conducted on the operational guidelines of the team,” he said.
Oladeinde warned that any ad-hoc team found operating after the notice would be handed over to the law enforcement agencies for trial and prosecution.
This, he said, was in accordance with the Law of the State as captured in the Traffic Sector Reform Law (TSRL) 2018.
The commissioner said that the order should be noted by the general public, saying owners of abandoned vehicles posing environmental nuisance as well as security and traffic impediments must remove them from the roads.
“Negligence will not be condoned as an excuse for violation of the Traffic Laws of the State,” he said.
Oladeinde recalled that an earlier suspension of the RAVC’s was lifted on Dec. 30, 2021 in view of several appraisals and reviews of the operational guidelines of the team by the State Government.
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