Sanwo-Olu Bans Okada In All Areas Of Lagos State Indefinitely To Curb The Spread Of COVID-19

The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has directed the suspension of commercial motorcycles, popularly known as okada in all areas of the state till further notice.

Sanwo-Olu, at a briefing on Wednesday, said the suspension was to check the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

The governor also said the state had covered over 1.5 million households in its house-to-house active case search.

He said, “Commercial motorcycles, popularly known as okadas, are to suspend their operations statewide, except for those motorcycles used for courier and logistics purposes.

“Tricycles (kekes) operating in unrestricted areas, must not carry more than two passengers per trip and must ensure appropriate social distancing is maintained between passengers.”

Sanwo-Olu said the state government would be implementing the dusk-to-dawn curfew announced by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), from Monday.

The governor ordered commercial motorists to use face masks and not to take more than 60 per cent of their full capacity.

“There will be a dusk-to-dawn curfew from 8pm to 6am daily. This means that we expect all Lagos residents to stay in their homes in these hours, except those in essential services.

“All commuters are mandated to wear face masks at all times, sanitise with alcohol-based sanitizer or wash their hands with soap under running water before and after every trip.”

The governor urged banks to open all their branches and offer full complement of their services to the public.

He, however, said banking operations must fall within the stipulated hours of 9am to 3pm.

“Companies that choose to operate within this controlled easing phase are to operate between 9am and 3pm. They are also directed to operate at a maximum of 60 per cent of their staff capacity.

“All entertainment centres, such as cinemas, arcades, bars, casinos, day clubs, nightclubs and beaches shall remain closed till further notice,” Sanwo-Olu said.

He added that the government’s whistleblower channels would be fully opened to report companies that would flout the new directives.

On the 1.5 million households covered in its house-to-house active case search, Sanwo-Olu said, “So far, we have covered over 1.5 million households; and we are also continuing to scaleup our isolation and treatment capacity. The isolation centre at Gbagada opens tomorrow (Thursday), and we are currently working on building three additional isolation centres in the state.”