Lagos LP candidate seeks motor park reform

Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos State, Rotimi Odunaike

The Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos State, Rotimi Odunaike, has called for the restructuring and digitisation of motor park operations to improve professionalism, accountability and efficiency in the state’s road transport sector.

Odunaike made the call in a statement made available to The PUNCH on Wednesday, stressing the need for the government to distinguish between criminal elements and legitimate workers earning their livelihoods within the transport sector.

He argued that not all motor park workers should be categorised as “agberos,” noting that drivers, conductors, park attendants and traders also operate within the transport ecosystem.

“Some of those agberos that we’re talking about are also human beings. There are criminal elements amongst them that we need to prosecute. Amongst the others are drivers, conductors, motor park attendants, traders, and things like that,” he stated.

Odunaike called for greater government responsibility in the management of motor parks, while urging transport unions to focus on their professional responsibilities.

He proposed a clearer separation of functions, with government managing and regulating transport infrastructure, while organisations such as the National Union of Road Transport Workers and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria focus on driver professionalism, training, cooperatives and worker protection.

“NURTW and RTEAN should focus on driver professionalism, training, cooperatives and everything around the protection of the driver. Not focused on levy collection, managing parks and so on,” he stated.

The LP candidate also advocated the digitisation of motor park operations, arguing that technology could help reduce abuses, improve accountability and make the transport system more professional.

• LASG centralises land records in digital overhaul
• Sanwo-Olu urges early action on mental health challenges
• Tinubu will win 2027 election by bigger margin — Presidential aide

“If we separate the two and make everything digitised, bring professionalism and dignity to transportation and bring the private sector to support, I believe things will get better,” he stated.

He noted that the proposed reform formed part of his broader approach to addressing Lagos’ transportation challenges, which he described as a matter of mobility, dignity and quality of life.

Odunaike described his proposed mobility framework as “connected mobility,” combining intermodal and interconnected transport systems to make movement across Lagos more efficient and dignified.

He argued that an improved public transport system should make it easier for residents to access jobs, schools, healthcare and other essential services.

The governorship candidate also linked effective reform to the quality of leadership overseeing public institutions, saying his proposed governance model would measure manifesto commitments against publicly defined key performance indicators and scorecards.

He added that the model would seek to create a civil service that is transparent, responsive and empathetic towards citizens.

“Let it be transparent. Let them encounter a civil service that is responsive to them, responsive to their needs, empathetic with them,” he stated.

Odunaike said the underlying principle was that public institutions should serve citizens rather than make them feel they were at the mercy of government officials.