The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has sacked the Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Mr. Young Arabamen, over the worsening traffic gridlock in the state. The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Habib Aruna, said in a statement on Monday that a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr. Christian Olakpe, had been appointed as the new LASTMA boss. According to the statement, Olakpe was appointed as part of efforts to revamp LASTMA for improved performance and better relations with the public.
Ambode was quoted as saying that Olakpe’s appointment was in strong response to the consistent complaints by members of the public on the situation of traffic on Lagos roads. The governor, it would be recalled, had sacked the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Babatunde Edu, in September and appointed Bashir Braimoh in his stead.
“But the decision to appoint a seasoned former AIG as the CEO of LASTMA was due to the fact that the impetus expected with the previous appointment was not fully actualised due to the docile nature of the headship of the authority,” the statement read.
The new LASTMA CEO, who served as the Force Public Relations Officer under former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, in 2003, also served as the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Lagos; and headed the Plateau and Bayesla police commands before his retirement
Olakpe, who joined the Nigeria Police Force in 1982, is a graduate of Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos.