The Lagos State government, alongside the Transport sub-Committee of the All Progressive Congress Presidential Campaign on Wednesday said vehicular movement would be restricted around Surulere axis ahead of President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign visit to Lagos on Saturday.

The state also advised market women, residents and transporters to stay away from the axis on Saturday.

Demola Seriki, the Chairman, Sub-Committee on Transportation for the campaign and former Minister of State for Defense, stated this at a Travel Advisory press briefing he addressed at the Secretariat, Alausa.

The committee also disclosed that over 500 officials of the Lagos Traffic Management Authority, 150 Federal Road Safety Corps officials and other police and Department of the State Security, DSS, personnel are expected to manage the traffic and security in Lagos during the presidential campaign.

To reduce and manage vehicular movement into the state and especially in the axis, the FRSC has also banned movement of trucks and tankers into the state between Friday and Saturday.

The Transport sub-Committee said that over 100,000 people are expected at the rally inside Teslim Balogun Stadium, venue of the mega rally.

Areas to be affected are: National Stadium and Teslim Balogun Stadium, Funsho Williams Avenue, Surulere, Lawanson/Itire Road/Tejuosho Road, Apapa Road Costain, Abebe Village/Eric Moore Road, Eko Bridge/Apongbon, Marina Road, Ikorodu Road, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Old Toll Gate/Third Mainland Bridge/Obalende, International Airport Road, Oshodi-Oworonshoki Expressway,Agege Motor Road, Jibowu, Yaba-Muritala Mohammed Way Iddo/Otto, Herbert Macaulay Way – Adekunle, Ijora Olopa/Ijora

Briefing journalists on the planned traffic diversion and other logistics put in place to ensure a hitch-free presidential campaign rally, Seriki appealed to Lagosians to stay off Surulere axis on Saturday.

The Chairman, who was in company of other members of the committe like the state’s Commissioner for Transportation, Ladi Lawanson, the General Manager of LASTMA, Wale Musa, the state FRSC sector Commander, Hygenius Omeje and other stakeholders in the state, said that the roads would be shut between 10 am to 6pm.

He said: “The visit, billed for Saturday, February 9, 2019 will afford the President opportunity to meet with the people and address them directly about his plans and programmes for them if re-elected into office in the forthcoming general elections. As is usual, especially at this time when elections are in the air, coupled with the fact that the President has a large following across the land whose throng to the venue of the campaign visit at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, will expectedly affect the traffic situation in the metropolis.

“In the light of this, we have, in collaboration with all the concerned and necessary agencies of government, designed a programme to ensure free flow of traffic while the visited lasts. Accordingly, this Travel Advisory is hereby issued to advise members of the public on alternative routes to ensure that all those who will not be at the venue of the campaign do not get stuck in traffic on the following routes that will be affected”

He added that the traffic will therefore either be closed or diverted on the 18 major routes.

“Alaka (by Lanre Shittu Motors) on the service lane inwards stadium will be closed to traffic and vehicles diverted to the stadium bridge on the main carriage way. Shitta inwards Stadium and Stadium inwards Shitta will be closed to traffic and vehicles diverted to Adeniran Ogunsanya Street or Akerele Extension. Traffic from Baracks to Stadium on Funsho Williams Avenue will be diverted to Stadium Bridge on the main carriage way to Alaka,” Seriki said.

Also speaking, the General Manager, LASTMA, Wale Musa said that 500 officials of the agency would be deployed to manage traffic on the day while the FRSC boss, Omeje said that trucks and tankers had been warned to stay away from Lagos from Friday to Saturday.

Asked what alternative routes were made for the trucks coming into Lagos from Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Omeje said that the FRSC had discussed with the various unions on parking outside Lagos, saying most of the truck had been informed to make use of Ogere and other places along Lagos-Ibadan expressway.