The Lagos State Government has commenced the release of impounded vehicles to their owners without payment of fines.
The gesture, it was gathered was due to a cash crunch that has hit the nation following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Naira redesign policy.
Recall that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had three weeks ago introduced palliative measures to cushion the effect of the Naira redesign policy which has led to an extreme cash crunch in Nigeria.
As part of efforts to scale up the palliative measure, the state government decided to release vehicles that were impounded for minor traffic offences to their owners and waived the fines.
State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, while briefing newsmen on Tuesday, said the exercise commenced last Saturday and is still ongoing.
According to Oladeinde, “when you look at what the governor proposed, especially during the cash crunch period, we have reduced public transport fares by 50 per cent.
“So when you go on our BRTs and all the Lagos state-funded public transport, including Lag Ride, we have reduced the fare by 50% just to alleviate the suffering of our people.
“Apart from that, moving away from transport, we have opened up food banks in certain areas. So we’re beginning to give out palliative just to ensure that people get through this cash crunch period.
“We’re happy that APC has won at the national level. And we are beginning to see some of these policies being reversed.
“So we’re hoping that in a short time, life would return back to normal but in terms of public transport, I think we’ve reduced fare by 50 per cent.”
Oladeinde added that “there are some people that committed offences during that period and we understand the fact that money wasn’t easy to come by.
“Looking at the governor’s magnanimity, the governor has deemed it fit to ensure that people who committed crimes within that period and wanted to pay or couldn’t pay as a result of the shortage of cash, should come and pick up their cars and he has waved the fines.
“Mind you, that does not include major crimes committed. These are just minor traffic offences that have been committed in Lagos and this is showing empathy and trying to understand that look, we understand how difficult it has been and it is not a reason for us to stop you from making ends meet and so hence the governor’s magnanimity.”
The commissioner stated that “all those who have committed a crime within that period should come and pick up their cars, that doesn’t mean people should continue to offend and so right now, what we are doing is to caution them not to commit the offence again.
“After the cash crunch is over we arrest, What we are doing right now educating people, like correcting them to just making sure that they don’t commit an offence again, but obviously if you commit a major crime, the law has to take his course.”
Meanwhile, Oladeinde said transportation would continue to be the backbone of the state’s economy, saying that when one looked at the policies the government is implementing, they have helped to reposition the transportation system.
He said the government had continued to test-run the Blue Line Rail system, ahead of full operation which would kick off in April as promised by the governor.
According to Oladeinde: “We are opening up the whole public transport arena so that people can have options. So we’re going to continue to encourage the private sector to bring in more profit.
“We’re trying to move away from diesel which has been very expensive and has made public transportation expenses. So we are now piloting some diesel, some CAG buses, and over time, we already have investors who want to bring in these buses and that will crash the cost of public transportation. So we’re doing that with LAMATA.”