Barely 96 hours after Lagos State Governor, Bababjide Sanwo-Olu issued a 24-hour ultimatum to truck drivers along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, who park indiscriminately to vacate the axis or face the consequences, partial compliance was recorded on Monday, following the disappearance of trucks at the hitherto blocked axis.
Sanwo-Olu had last Friday, carried out an inspection tour of the axis with an ultimatum to the truckers to leave the road or face the consequences.
Recall that Vanguard Media had consistently reported traffic situation on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, in response to public outcry, following the resurgence of gridlock around the Mile-2 axis occasioned by indiscriminate parking by truckers. The resultant effect has caused untold hardships to other motorists and residents plying the road.
Motorists and other road users often spend several hours navigating through the area as truckers accupy the entire road, while law enforcement agents extort drivers.
Members of the State Executive Council who were part of the tour, included: Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, Commissioner for the Environment, Tokunbo Wahab, Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, among other senior officials.
The governor, who was on a tour of blighted spots in the axis, temporarily made a stop-over at Mile-2 Bus Stop loop, where he spoke with some operators on the need to maintain decorum in the axis
He arrived at the scene at about 1. 40 p.m.
, and after a brief inspection and chat with operator Sanwo-Olu, directed them to restore sanity in the area or be sanctioned appropriately.
Checks on Monday, showed some minimal level of compliance by truckers as they kept to a lane, thereby giving across to other road users.
Though there were lots of tankers and containers from Mile-2 Oke inward Berger Yard, Coconut, there was still a bit of movement for other motorists.
While some described the development as pyrrhic, others called on the government and stakeholders to sustain and even improve on the current situation in order to fully restore sanity in the axis.
The Head of Operations, Lagos State Special Traffic Management Committee on Apapa Gridlock, comrade Hassan Adekoya, while commenting on the development, said the committee recently, engaged stakeholders in a series of meetings on the need to steer off Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, as well as Apapa Road by Area B axis inward Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA.
Meanwhile, the special traffic management committee coordinator, however, appealed to the Federal Government to treat as a matter of urgency to fix several failing portions of the road along the Apapa axis to reduce the congestion in the interest of the public.
Adekoya had earlier, led a team to fix the failed portion of the road along Ijora-Apapa Road which had been a nightmare to motorists, traders and residents.
He, however, called on stakeholders both individual and corporate organizations of the need to complement the government’s efforts by offering Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, by coming to the aid of the public in the provision and maintenance of basic infrastructure in the society.
According to Adekoya, while speaking with newsmen at a briefing with the Apapa Community and Stakeholders, “The team has been doing well but since my arrival, we are doing better because we have been able to review some of the policies that actually led to this great achievement that we are having today at Area B axis of Apapa gridlock. Social life is back in Apapa.
“To make things work here we insisted on the policy review. We used to have a visual park. Where the stakeholders normally get a proxy call-up through the back door to get to the port That’s when you see them on the road for days.
“We have been able to sit down with the NPA, the whole of the team, the team members. The MD has been able to support us from the NPA’s end to suspend all the visual parks. Since this has been suspended, we have a perfect system at this end, Area B.
“We have LASTMA, Police Officers and NPA Task Team. We are there to ensure total sanity with the backing of the Governor of Lagos State, Sanwo-Olu.
“We have sanctioned a lot of erring trickers. Continuity of the enforcement, we will continue to do our best as you can see the road now.
“Mr. Governor said he will fix it and we have been told to get it done. However, you can hold us responsible for any situation in the axis.”
On how the achievement recorded at area B can be translated at the other side of Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Adekoya said, “Once we get the clear mandate regarding that axis, those hitches you see today you will see them no more. Enforcement with the necessary will and support is the key.”
Also, one of the stakeholders who spoke to Vanguard, Arugba Michael, a former adviser on transportation to the defunct taskforce on Apapa gridlock under the leadership of KayodecOpeifa and the Sola Giwa, the current Special Adviser on Transportation to the Governor, said, “I was in charge of monitoring and enforcement and now a stakeholder in the axis.
“I have been a resident in Apapa for about 30 years. Transport in Apapa is far better now compared to 6/8 years back. At a point in time, the bottleneck was in the port system.
“NPA, shipping companies and transporters. They were all in a hurry in thereby creating artificial gridlock at that time.
“Citizens cause these bottlenecks in most cases. The government put policies. It is ours to implement.
We developed an SOP, Standard Operating Procedure which led to the sanity we see today around Area B.
“Unfortunately, in this part of the world, we don’t commend those who started the process but rather condemn and it discourages even those coming in ahead so it kills morals.
“The templates used today were developed and designed by Opeifa. We worked with NPA to design those templates.
“Lagos State Government should put LASTMA and someone in charge of the movement. In agreement on the number of trucks allowed into the port per time. People make simple things so difficult.
“Sola Giwa, now SA transport deserves kudos for streamlining the SOP very well. The port access road. There must be trucks on the road normally. It can’t be avoided but they should leave one or two hours after. It’s a vicious circle. Hassan is saddled with the responsibility of making it all work. All Stakeholders must come together.
“The shipping companies are to know which vessels are available and which Companies can come into the port. But all because they want to milk Nigerians they demand a PIN container and not release containers.
“They call the two and get them stuck on the road creating problems then the blame goes to NPA not knowing it’s the shipping Companies causing issues.
“We need total enforcement and effective monitoring to achieve sanity in the Apapa axis, particularly on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.”
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