As part of the preventive measures to further curb the spread of COVID-19, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation has held a sensitisation meeting with the Executives of major Stakeholders in the transport business, including the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).
The meeting which was held at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja was aimed at educating the stakeholders in the transport system on the need to join hands with the State Government in the public awareness campaign against the spread of the deadly Coronavirus disease.
Addressing the Transport Union Leaders, the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Prince Olanrewaju Elegushi urged them to fully engage their members on the preventive measures already in place to forestall further spread of the virus.
Elegushi admonished the union leaders to encourage their members on the need for regular handwashing with soap, application of hand sanitisers and, most importantly, reduction in the number of passengers in their buses during daily transport routine.
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Transportation, Mr. Toyin Fayinka also affirmed that prevention of further spread of the virus should be paramount to all and sundry, hence the need to address seating arrangement in public buses to avoid overloading of passengers.
He encouraged the transport union members to be vigilant and meticulous while exercising utmost caution by working with the State Government to rid Lagos State of the COVID-19.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Sewedo Oluseyi Whenu restated the State Government’s efforts to forestall further spread of the virus by ensuring the installation of soap and hand-sanitiser dispensers in all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, urging the Transport Stakeholders to do the same by ensuring the provision of sanitary facilities in their motor parks.
Highlighting the spread of COVID-19 to Lagos and the imperatives of avoiding body contact within the transportation system, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Health, Dr. Oreoluwa Finnih implored the Union Executives to be mindful of the loading of passengers in their buses to check excesses and the spread of Coronavirus within the polity.
Major points in the Communique issued at the end of the meeting are: No Passenger should be allowed to stand in all public transportation vehicles, including the high capacity buses; Minibuses should have not more than two passengers seated in a row and; Transport Unions should ensure that sanitisers and thermometers are available at their respective motor parks.
Others include: Transport Unions are to report any suspected case of COVID-19 to the government; the Unions were urged to observe the State Government’s latest guidelines banning large gatherings of people to protect the health and safety of Lagosians; transport unions agreed that their members would improve on their personal hygiene which is the most important preventive mechanism for the spread of the COVID-19 disease amongst others.
