Dr Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran also called Jandor, Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in next year’s election, on Saturday visited the homes of AbdulLateet Kolapo and Osinachi Ndukwe, two of the victims, whose vehicles were seized for violating traffic laws, and whose vehicles were auctioned by the Lagos State Taskforce.
The state government had on Thursday auctioned 134 vehicles that have been impounded at the Lagos State Taskforce compound in Alausa, Ikeja, for various traffic offenses.
The governorship candidate assured them and other Lagosians of hope, which he promised his government was bringing if elected into office in 2023.
However, the PDP standard bearer reiterated the fact that his visit does not suggest that he was supporting individuals breaking laws, stressing that he was not opposed to having traffic law and regulations in place or encouraging anybody driving against traffic, but said what he was against is any law that takes away people’s means of livelihood, and leaving them and all their dependant helpless and hopeless.
AbdulLateet and Osinachi were among the owners of over 134 seized vehicles which were auctioned last Thursday by the Lagos State government, a development that led Osinachi and his mother, a 49- year-old widow, to openly weep as they begged for the price reduction, while their only vehicle bought at the rate of N1.8 million on hired purchase was being auctioned for N450,000.
The governorship candidate accompanied by his running mate, Funke Akindele- Bello, while speaking at the residence of AbdulLateef, located on Oyewuwo Street, Mushin, pointedly said his visit was not to show support for the violation of traffic law but to let it be known that it was not appropriate to have laws in place that would completely take away one’s livelihood, and also to bring the message of hope Lagosians ahead of 2023.
Adediran, while promising to review some of the laws on the ground, which he described as punitive, also decried a situation where markets were announced closed “just because one individual or two committed a sin.”
“Our visit here today is not that we are against the law on traffic, not that we are against it.
Jandor who stated that the law will be repealed once he emerges the governor of Lagos State in 2023, said, “If government makes law, it should not be that that would take away one’s means of livelihood. That is why we are here. We came here to tell you that you should not lose hope, that a government is coming in Lagos, a government that would not just lock markets just because of one individual or two committed a sin. Our government if voted into office in next year would look into some of the laws that are punitive and review them,” he said.
“Why should one’s livelihood be taken away from him just because he drove against traffic and not that he killed or committed a heinous crime? If they take your means of livelihood, how do they want you to survive?” he queried.
“Government should know that people heckling for a livelihood have a lot of dependants. If anybody commits an offence, it should not be that his means of livelihood should be taken away from him.
“Yes, there should be a penalty, but not his means of livelihood being taken away completely from him,” he added.
The PDP chieftain also repeated same message, while speaking at the Ogba residence of Osinachi, just as he gave some undisclosed amount of money to the two victims to assist them to start a new life.
Source: Dailyindependent
