By Demi Adeniyi
Motorists in Lagos, are in for a tough time as facts has emerged that the state’s Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has a target to generate N2.5 billion into government coffers from fines from traffic offences this year.
This is contained in the 2024 budget of the Lagos State Government, signed into law by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
In the budget, the Ministry of Transportation is to generate N52.48 billion this year, out of which LASTMA is to rake in N2,505,000,000.
The Lagos State budget was part of the Federal and state by state budget contained in Open Nigeria, a web page managed by BUDGIT Nigeria and supported by the British Council. It contains budget documents of all the federating states of Nigeria since 2009.
BUDGIT Nigeria has been a strong advocate for accountability in governance, ensuring that Nigerian budget count for governance and for the poor to have the dividends of democratic governance.
In the 2023 budget, LASTMA was given N2.35 billion as revenue target. The Authority raked in N703.486 million between January and September, 2023. The revenue generation in the last three months (October-December of the year was not captured in the budget.
Asides LASTMA, the Ministry of Transportation targets N11.28 billion revenue this year, while the Lagos State Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), is to generate N10.3 billion.
The Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) has a budget of N17.059 billion revenue target. In 2023, though it targets N16.399 billion revenue, it could only generate N7.196 billion between January and September 2023.
Also, the Lagos State Parking Authority is to generate N4.1 billion this year. In the previous year, the agency posted N450.9 million between January and September 2023 out of the N1.75 billion it was given in the year.
The Lagos State Number Plate and Production Authority has a revenue generation target of N6.2 billion, which is more that the N5.23 billion revenue target the previous year.
Lagos State has a total of seven million vehicles, estimate, as at 2022, out of which mixed commercial (trucks/buses) are four million and three million private vehicles. Also found in Lagos are a surfeit of motorized motorcycles, and rickshaws (tricycles).
The Lagos State Government had always insisted that all agencies and departments established under the Ministry of Transportation were not revenue generating.
It however acknowledged that it would not hesitate to make revenue from fines from motorists who are not ready to comply with the regulations concerning transportation and traffic management in the state.
