Dare Babalola
The Lagos State Government has approved a comprehensive retraining program for senior officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to enhance their leadership competence and align with international best practices.
According to Adebayo Taofiq, Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, the initiative is part of the government’s efforts to improve traffic management in the state and ensure seamless mobility for residents.
He noted that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration has been working to recalibrate Lagos’ transportation matrix, and this retraining program is a key component of that effort.l, adding that over 3,000 LASTMA personnel have undergone training and retraining in the past eight months, focusing on strategic leadership, incident management, and crisis response.
The 5-day retraining program, which commenced recently, will cover 50 zonal heads and 82 principal officers of LASTMA.
The retraining program aims to equip LASTMA’s senior officers with the skills and knowledge needed to manage traffic effectively and efficiently. The program’s objectives include, enhancing leadership competence and decision-making skills, improving incident management and conflict resolution skills, promoting effective communication and presentation skills, and fostering ethical standards and discipline within the agency.
The retraining program is expected to have several benefits, including, improved traffic management and reduced congestion, enhanced professionalism and courtesy among LASTMA personnel, increased public confidence in LASTMA’s ability to manage traffic effectively, and better equipped LASTMA personnel to handle emergencies and incidents.
Declaring the programme open, the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, extolled the Governor’s perspicacious intervention, portraying it as a deliberate and inestimable investment in the intellectual and professional capital of the Authority. He averred that the exercise would serve as a catalytic crucible for professional refinement, operational concord, and an augmented reservoir of public confidence in the Agency’s statutory mandate.
According to Mr. Bakare-Oki, “The training modules encompass Job Description and Performance Management, Effective Leadership in Organisational Development, Incident Management and Conflict Resolution with Emotional Intelligence, Effective Communication and Presentation Skills, Stress and Health Management, as well as Ethical Standards and Discipline.”
On his part, the Director of Training and Human Capacity Development of LASTMA, Akinpelu Ayuba, urged Lagos motorists to adhere to traffic regulations and demonstrate civility and respect towards traffic officers. He also encouraged motorists to report emergencies or incidents to LASTMA’s multilingual toll-free hotline.
