Lagos permanent secretary pledges support for state’s traffic radio’s expansion

By Adeola Ogunrinde –

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Olanrewaju Bajulaiye, has described Lagos Traffic Radio as a station that has come to stay and a trusted companion for motorists and residents navigating traffic across the metropolis.

During a working visit to the station, Mr. Bajulaiye commended the management and staff for their dedication and resilience in taking the station to greater heights. He urged for more synergy and innovative ideas to improve the dissemination of traffic information to Lagos residents efficiently and effectively.

Accompanied by the Director of Social Media in the Ministry, Dr. Jide Atansuyi, and the Director of Strategy Centre, Mr. Kayode Oyekanmi, Bajulaiye noted that Lagos, as the largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, remains the cynosure of all eyes. He stressed the important role Lagos Traffic Radio plays in contributing to the T.H.E.M.E.S Plus Agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.

He said the state government would explore new frontiers to ensure Lagos Traffic Radio provides relevant information even to people in the diaspora. According to him, Lagos is not comparable to any other state in the federation but to nations of the world, given its mega-city status and economic influence.

Earlier, while welcoming the Permanent Secretary and his team, the General Manager of Lagos Traffic Radio, Mr. Tayo Akanle, congratulated Bajulaiye on his well-deserved appointment and redeployment to the Ministry of Information and Strategy. He said the move would further strengthen the ministry’s operations, given the Permanent Secretary’s wealth of experience.

Akanle outlined the station’s reforms and innovations in alignment with the ‘T’ pillar of the T.H.E.M.E.S Plus Agenda, which include expanded coverage on waterways, railways, flight schedules, live camera updates, and live motorbike incident reports. He disclosed plans for a booster station in Ikorodu and another in the Ibeju-Lekki axis to enhance signal strength.

The General Manager added that the station targets to increase its live camera feeds from 300 to over 3,000 in collaboration with the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, to enhance traffic visibility across the state. He described Lagos Traffic Radio as a reliable platform providing travel advisories and traffic information to motorists within Lagos and neighbouring states for the past 13 years.

Akanle also revealed that the station’s social media engagement has grown significantly, with Facebook followers rising from 4,000 in 2019 to 100,000, and X (formerly Twitter) followers increasing from 15,000 to 55,000. The Permanent Secretary and his team were later conducted on a tour of the station’s facilities, including the live studios, transmitter room, and motorbike reporters’ operations.