August 28, (THEWILL) – The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has explained that the Lagos State Government created the Lagos State Parking Authority, LASPA, as a response to the growing need for the regulation of chaotic parking in the state.
In a release issued at the weekend by the party and signed by its Spokesperson, Mr Seye Oladejo, Lagos APC said it received with shock the statement issued by the Lagos State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on the new parking policy in the state.
APC said, “the opposition party, in its attempt to curry the sentiments of the people of Lagos and in its characteristic manner, made allegations that are outlandish, embarrassing, and contemptible.
“With an estimated 1.2 million registered vehicles, about 224 vehicles per kilometre of road space and a population of over 24 million people, Lagos State surely needs a sustainable statewide parking policy to complement the renewed urban development plan and the ever competing needs for space, especially in the city activity centres and Central Business Districts.
“According to recent statistics by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), there are more than 13 million active vehicles plying Nigerian roads today. Out of that figure, more than 2 million cars are in Lagos. About 10% of the cars require parking each day.
“The visionary drive of the successive Lagos State Governments which has seen Lagos State gradually emerging as a true 21st Century city state, with burgeoning economy, first class infrastructure, and service support systems is obviously beyond the impaired contemplation of the PDP. What occurs to PDP in its renowned shortsightedness is politics and money making.
“In a most ridiculous manner, the opposition party is rather seeing an opportunity to pool a wool over the eyes of the people of the state, pretending to have any altruistic interest in their wellbeing. It is easy for the discerning people of this state to see beyond the hypocritical sympathy of PDP. Otherwise, if the leadership of PDP had any such genuine concern for Lagosians, it should be demonstrated towards alleviating the untold hardship many people of the state are facing on the road on daily basis.”
The party further said that LASPA or any of its staffers or agents, will not charge on cars parked in any compound.
“However, any car parked on the setback, such person, organisation or group of persons will be charged accordingly.
“A setback (for obvious reasons) is the space between your perimeter fencing and the walkway or the road, as the case may be. Whoever claims he/she owns a setback around his/her property will have to provide official documentation from the authorised MDA in Lagos State, showing the legal ownership of the said setback and the Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) certificate of the property to the authority”, the party explained.
Lagos APC while reiterating the main duty of LASPA, said it is to regulate parking, to reduce traffic caused by indiscriminate parking, reduce travel time, loss of productive man-hours and economic downtime, which when multiplied by average wage rate, amounts to billions of naira and reduce incessant road accidents.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
