The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, says the State Parking Authority, LASPA, is not a revenue-generating body of the government but was established to ensure the free flow of traffic in the state.
Dr Oladeinde clarified at a joint news briefing with the Commissioner for Information and the General Manager of LASPA in Alausa, Ikeja.
For some weeks, the issue of parking fees on setbacks imposed by the Lagos State Parking Authority, LASPA, has generated controversy.
This controversy formed the basis for the news conference where the State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, said the issue had been taken out of context for political reasons.
He said LASPA had the backing of the law and that it was a child of necessity to decongest streets and forestall indiscriminate parking on roads.
Dr Oladeinde said LASPA was not a revenue-generating agency but to promote a modern parking policy befitting the state.
“LASPA was created to find lasting solutions to the issues of indiscriminate and illegal parking across the state. This will aid prompt reduction of traffic gridlock experienced by everyone. We, thus, enjoin Lagosians to cooperate with the agency and other similar stakeholders in carrying out its laudable mandate.
“The agency was established, among others, to promote parking policies tailored to suit the peculiarity of the State in line with modern international standards towards achieving a smart city.
“LASPA is also empowered to remove all impediments arising from indiscriminate parking on carriageways, thereby increasing the carriageway capacity on the roads, improving the flow of traffic and reducing travel time,” said Dr Oladeinde.
Speaking on the agency’s mandate, the General Manager of LASPA, Mrs Adebisi Adelabu, said most residential buildings did not have parking lots and that the government would not allow such to continue.
“Lagos is a megacity and to be a megacity there are certain things that must be in place. We want to copy the likes of New York and London. Those systems work because they put structures in place and that’s what we are trying to do,” said Mrs Adelabu.
Mrs Adelabu said LASPA had spoken to religious groups to manage their parking during worship days.
On the allegation by some lawyers that LASPA is an illegal body carrying out the constitutional functions of the local governments, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, said the issue was a question of law that didn’t take anything away from the powers of the agency.
In another development, Mr Omotosho announced that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had appointed Mr Bamgbose Martins as the new Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development.
Mr Martins, an engineer, replaced Mr Idris Salako, a town planner, who resigned from the state cabinet on Tuesday.
Until his new appointment, Mr Martins was the Commissioner for Special Duties.
