Residents of Lekki Phase I have pledged to work closely with the Lagos State government and security agents to ensure that commercial motorcyclists, popularly called Okada riders, are banned in the area.

The chairman of the estate’s residents association, Yomi Idowu, stated this in an interview following the June 1 enforcement of the ban by the state government.

“We are supporting the government because these are our lives. We’ve been doing that even before the June 1 date, and there are less okadas now.

“So, whatever the government brings, we can add ours so that we can all work together,’’ he said.

Mr Idowu said that the association would soon inaugurate about 60 new buses in the area to add to the shuttle buses currently plying the road to cushion the effect of the okada ban on passengers.

He said that awareness campaigns were also being carried out to encourage residents to use the shuttle buses provided.

“Residents are all aware of what is going on and are working together to keep the area safe for people to live in,” Mr Idowu said. 

The state government had, on May 18, announced the ban on okada riders from operating in six local government areas, including Ikeja, Surulere, Eti-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island and Apapa.

Some Lekki residents had, on May 19, taken to the streets of Lekki Phase I to express their grievances against the menace of okada riders while calling on the government to immediately enforce the ban.

They also reacted to an incident at the Admiralty area of Lekki, where the death of a sound engineer, identified simply as David, was, on May 12, linked to suspected motorcyclists.

A correspondent, who was in the Eti-Osa, one of the six LGAs where the ban was to be enforced, reports that no okada rider was seen in the area except some dispatch riders.

(NAN)