Residents of Lagos State who refuse to use pedestrian bridges in the state will soon be sanctioned.
The Lagos State House of Assembly, at its plenary, made the resolution, a statement said on Tuesday.
A lawmaker, Rotimi Olowo, representing Somolu Constituency 2, had alerted other members of the Assembly to the prevalence of avoidable deaths, especially on expressways in the state.
Olowo noted that many of the incidences happened where there were pedestrian bridges, describing the situation as unacceptable.
He said, “Sometime ago, the governor was briefed on the need to have a pedestrian bridge around 7up in the Ojota area, and this request was expeditiously granted.
“But despite the huge amount committed by the government to provide this infrastructure in the area, a lot of people still defy the use of the pedestrian bridge provided by government.
“Therefore, this Assembly needs to encourage strict compliance to the use of the pedestrian bridges by the residents. The Ministry of Information needs to embark on public enlightenment campaigns to re-orientate the populace on the safety of using the bridges.”
Olowo advised that punitive measures, which might not be fines, could also be imposed, such as delaying offenders caught for hours, while others could be subjected to cleaning of drains to serve as a deterrent.
Two of his colleagues, Segun Olulade and Sunni Avoseh, urged advocacy to appeal to the residents on the importance of using pedestrian bridges.
They also urged the enforcement agencies to be alive to their responsibilities and not see the non-compliance as an opportunity to extort money from the people.
Another lawmaker, Dr. Ajibayo Adeyeye, recollected that there used to be a wire mesh at the Ojota area which prevented the crossing of the expressway.
He suggested that such measures could be replicated to deter people from crossing the expressway.
The Deputy Whip of the Assembly, Rotimi Abiru, said,“The change that we all clamour for starts with all of us. We must play our parts.”
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