Lagos State Government has issued a seven-day removal notice to communities with unapproved street gates to either leave such gates open between 5am and midnight or remove them.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, who gave the notice, said gates and structures installed without approval from the Ministry of Transportation contravened the traffic laws and regulations, therefore must be removed within seven days of the given notice.
He said the ministry has the authority, in conjunction with the Ministry Local Government and Community Affairs, on the installed gates aimed at enhancing traffic management on the inner roads, while protecting lives and property of the communities.
“During the recent inspection conducted by the Ministry of Transportation, it was discovered that some communities have sited gates on some inner roads to avoid vehicular movement on their streets. This act has contributed to traffic congestion being experienced on our roads on a daily basis,’’ he said.
The commissioner said while it is expected that all street gates across the state be opened from 5am to 12 midnight, the gates must be manned by security personnel engaged by the community or resident association and must be opened for emergency services such as police, ambulance and fire service at all time.
The special committee set up by the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation on demolition of gated streets has begun enforcement exercise on the removal of gates across the state that fail to comply with the government’s directive on ‘Gated Streets’ regulation.
Oladeinde urged communities with government approval for installation of gates on their streets to come forward with their documents for review and approval, failure of which the special committee will remove such street gates.
