(Lagos)
The Apapa gridlock may soon be a thing of the past as the Lagos State newly constituted Traffic Management Enforcement and the Nigerian Port Authority Security Team have identified seven parks as holding bay for trucks.
The Chairman of the team,Mr Oluwatoyin Fayinka, gave this indication in a statement signed by the Asstant Director, Public Affairs of Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Mrs Bolanle Ogunlola in Lagos.
Fayinka identified the seven parks to be at Ojota, Obanikoro, Oregun, Olowotedo-Ibafo, Amuwo-Odofin, Orile-Iganmu, Okorisan-Lekki/Epe, adding that the facilities would keep trucks away from roads until trucks were called up for loading.
He said that members of the team had within two weeks met to rub minds on issue occasioned by loading trucks and trailers at the port, which extended to major parts of Lagos.
He said the special team, saddled with the responsibility of ensuring zero tolerance to traffic offenders and seamless traffic management system were also to ensure restoration of sanity in and around Apapa.
The Chairman of the Team,who is also the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Transportation, Mr Oluwatoyin Fayinka, explained that the Team had designed a road map and the strategy to be adopted.
“We are in discussion with the various Stakeholders; the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) Terminal Operators and Association of Trucks Union on the best way to do business around Apapa Ports without breakdown of law and order’
“Part of the discussions held with the Truck Owners Association operating around Apapa was that, each company should acquire Park Terminals for their fleets of trucks to serve as holding bay pending when they will be called up for loading.
“NPA is already ramping up the Call Up System that will ensure that trucks that are not yet called for loading do not hang around the ports constituting obstructions to traffic.
“A total of seven Parks have been identified for the purpose of holding bay for trucks at various locations around the metropolis, they are at; Ojota, Obanikoro, Oregun, Olowotedo-Ibafo, Amuwo-Odofin, Orile-Iganmu, Okorisan-Lekki/Epe.
“These parks will keep trucks away from the roads until they are called up for loading,” Fayinka said.
The Chairman, expressed displeasure at the situation of the port with its attendant gridlock which he noted had paralyzed so many businesses around Apapa corridor with extension to other parts of the state.
Fayinka expressed optimusm that the Nigerian Port Authority’s Call Up System would help, greatly, in reducing traffic gridlock around Apapa.
“Full enforcement will commence soon after due consultation with all Stakeholders.
“The bridges around Apapa corridor which have been turned to parking lots for trucks were not designed to carry the weight of the trailers for a long period.
“The heavy duty trucks being parked along the bridge,leading into the ports will damage the bridge overtime and cause a collapse which would be catastrophic to the state and its residents,” Fayinka added.
A member of the Traffic Management Enforcement Team, Mr Shola Giwa, said getting rid of stationary vehicles on the bridges and roads within a short time would be achieved with the cooperation of NPA.
Giwa, therefore, urgedd NPA to make the Call up System accessible to the Chairman of the Team to enable effective enforcement of the new directive for articulated trucks and tankers and provide a synergy that would bring a lasting finality to the gridlock situation in Apapa.
The General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Mr Jide Oduyoye, who was also a member of the Team called on NPA to turn away trucks and tankers that were not road worthy.
He further advisec that the Authority should allow the traffic laws of the State run its course on deviant companies by embracing transparency in solving the gridlock problem at the ports.
The General Manager, Security, Nigerian Port Authority, (NPA) Mohammed Jamil Khalil, assured the Agency’s unrelenting support in freeing up Apapa from traffic congestion by work together with the State Government to proffer short and long term solutions to the problem.
The Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Transportation, Mr Kamar Olowoshago,noted that the Smart City vision could only be actualized if all Stakeholders retrace their steps by taking responsibility for the damages done on Apapa and channel efforts and commitment to tackling the gridlock problems immediately.
