The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) is to begin “Operation Totality Enforcement” to ensure timely implementation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that trucks parking on Apapa roads should vacate with 72 hours.
Mr Chris Olakpe, the Chief Executive Officer of LASTMA, made the disclosure on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The President had said that the vacation would help in clearing the gridlock in Apapa and its environs and help in restoring law and order in the area.
The vacation notice was issued on Wednesday as one of the outcomes of a meeting convened by President Buhari and chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on April 25.
According to Olakpe, major stakeholders have met to find a lasting solution to the gridlock caused by the indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles on roads in Apapa and environs.
“We are going to follow the directive to the letter, all hands must be on deck; any vehicles constituting nuisance on highways or bridges will face the wrath of the law.
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“By Monday, May 27, we are going to commence operation totality to flush out articulated vehicles queuing on expressways and causing heavy traffic on the Apapa axis.
“LASTMA, together with other law enforcement agencies, will carry out the exercise,” he said.
Mr Hyginus Omeje, the Lagos State Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), also told NAN that the corps would be part of the presidential task team to ensure sanity on the roads.
Omeje said that FRSC would provide 200 personnel to be part of the enforcement team.
“We are collaborating with LASTMA and police to manage the traffic,” Omeje said.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")