Emmanuel Ukudolo
November 2, 2015 – The nauseating traffic situation in Lagos State which has persisted, forcing many to criticize Governor Akinwunmi Ambode may have consumed its first casualty in the person of Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority,(LASTMA) Mr. Young Arabamen.
Traffic suddenly appeared on the streets in Lagos shortly after the governor opted to give human face to traffic management by ordering members of the outfit to desist from intimidating, arresting and impounding vehicles but to ticket offenders with a moratorium to pay.
The development, experts have observed forced many officials of the agency to abandon their duty post, with a corresponding traffic chaos in most of the metropolis.
Arabamen has been occupied the position for almost two decades before the governor announced his sack today and immediately replaced him, with retired Assistant Inspector General of of Police, Mr. Christian Akioja Olakpe as the new Chief Executive Officer of the agency.
The Appointment of Olakpe, according to a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Habib Aruna, is in strong response to the consistent complaints by the public on the situation of traffic on the streets of Lagos.
Olakpe’s wealth of experience was said to have situated him for the new appointment.
Governor Ambode, it would be recalled, had approved the appointment of a new General Manager for the Authority, but the decision to appoint a seasoned former AIG as the CEO of LASTMA was further said to have been necessitated owing to the fact that the impetus expected with the previous appointment was not fully actualized due to the docile nature of the headship of the Authority.
Olakpe is a graduate of Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos.
Retired AIG Olakpe joined the Nigeria Police Force in 1982 and traversed various commands including Bayelsa and Plateau where he served as Commissioner of Police.
He was also the Deputy Commandant of the Police Academy, Kano and Commissioner of Police of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit, Lagos. A Member of the International Association of Bomb Technicians (IABT) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (ICAP), Olakpe rose to become Assistant Inspector General of Police before his retirement in 2014.
