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The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has emphasized the need for all traffic officers to be more friendly and professional in the discharge of their responsibilities to motorists.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, gave the charge while flagging off a three-day training course for LASTMA Cadet Officers (LASTMA’s elite corps), at the Foursquare International Conference Centre in Orisumibare, Idimu, Lagos, yesterday.
Giwa who harped on the need to uphold ethics and professionalism in their new assignment said as traffic officers, LASTMA plays a critical role in ensuring the delivery of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s THEMES + Agenda, the first of which is transportation and traffic management.
To succeed in this mandate, the governor’s aide highlighted integrity, honesty and the impartial application of the state’s Traffic Reforms Law, even as he urged them to embrace the reorientation of courteous and respectful treatment of all citizens, even in challenging situations, as essential principles to a successful career as traffic officers.
Welcoming the officers formerly into the public service, Giwa urged the officers to see themselves as occupying a critical juncture in keeping the economy of the state, and by extension that of the country and the African continent moving, as Lagos is the commercial capital of Nigeria, and the fifth biggest economy on the continent.
He said the LASTMA uniforms which would be formerly given to the officers at the end of the training is an added responsibility. He cautioned them to shun corruption and be disciplined in the course of discharging their responsibilities as traffic managers.
Addressing the officers, Mr. Olalekan Bakare Oki, the General Manager of LASTMA, underscored the objective of the training course to equip the officers with the latest traffic management techniques, strategies, and best practices to keep the traffic moving.
He emphasized the importance of providing exceptional service to the citizens of Lagos State and fostering relationships and networks for career advancement.
Expressing gratitude on behalf of other cadet officers, Jimoh Babatunde Idris, thanked the Lagos State Government for employing them and providing them the training and retraining opportunity while pledging to uphold LASTMA’s work ethics and culture in the discharge of their responsibilities to the public.