The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has appointed leading media practitioners as Traffic Mayors to strengthen advocacy and ensure greater traffic discipline across the State.
The initiative, inaugurated under the leadership of the General Manager, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, is designed to complement the efforts of LASTMA officers in promoting order, safety, and mobility on Lagos roads.
According to the Director of Public Affairs and EnlighteTaofiq Adebayo, the pioneering scheme represents an unprecedented blend of media advocacy and traffic enforcement, strategically harnessing the influence of journalists to deepen public compliance and encourage a shift in motorists’ behaviour.
Speaking at the event, Bakare-Oki explained that the Traffic Mayor initiative is a milestone in traffic governance, where media professionals move beyond their conventional roles to serve as ambassadors of orderliness and civic discipline.
“This initiative is a deliberate and far-sighted attempt to broaden the frontiers of stakeholder engagement by embedding media practitioners—individuals whose voices command immense resonance in society—as active participants in the crusade for traffic sanity,” he said.
He noted that the newly inducted Traffic Mayors will collaborate with LASTMA officers to sensitize motorists, amplify advisories, counter misinformation, and model exemplary conduct on Lagos roads.
“Their role will significantly deepen the culture of voluntary compliance among motorists and further enhance our drive for road discipline,” Adebayo added.
The initiative, he stressed, will not only extend LASTMA’s operational reach but also boost public confidence in the agency’s enforcement activities by creating a credible and effective media-agency partnership.
Also speaking, the Director of Traffic Advocacy and Special Mayor, Jimmy Awoyemi, praised the programme as an “administrative innovation of monumental consequence.”
He stressed that managing traffic in a complex megacity like Lagos cannot be achieved by enforcement alone but must be anchored on strategic partnerships with media and civic stakeholders.
Jimmy further affirmed that the Lagos State Government, under the leadership of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, remains committed to deploying multifaceted solutions that will guarantee seamless mobility, stimulate economic growth, and safeguard the dignity of road users across the State.
