Lagos warns fuel service stations against causing traffic gridlock

Lagos State government on Wednesday appealed to filling stations that have fuel to dispense in the metropolis to ensure that queue of vehicles waiting to obtain supplies do not obstruct the free flow of traffic.

This was just as the state government announced that it had constituted a committee to monitor the traffic situation occasioned by the fuel scarcity in the face of the prevailing festive season.

According to it, the committee, comprising of representatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), the Police, Task Force, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Ministry, was put in place to prevent the loss of man hours and travel time in traffic gridlock.

The State’s Ministry of Transportation made the appeal in the face of the current fuel scarcity, saying it viewed with great concern and regret, the disruption of traffic flow by patrons of fuel stations.

According to it, the resulting gridlock has adversely affected the economic activities of individuals and corporate bodies, saying the development did not augur well for the state’s drive towards making its economy one of the top three on the continent.

The Ministry, while advising patrons of fuel stations to be orderly at such stations, also admonished operators of the fuel stations not to create artificial scarcity as well as ensure that their patrons do not constitute any clog to the free flow of traffic to avoid being sanctioned, which sanctions may include being shut down.