The newly inaugurated Lagos State Government Task Team on Restoration of Law and Order on Apapa Ports Access Roads has solicited the cooperation of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC, to enable it solve the traffic problem in Apapa.
During a courtesy visit to Nigerian Shippers Council’s headquarters in Lagos, Chairman of the Task Team, Toyin Fayinka, said the essence of the delegation’s visit to NSC was to introduce the team to the Council, emphasising that the Committee cannot succeed in its assignment without the support of the NSC, Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, and other agencies in the maritime sector.
General Manager, Lagos Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, Jide Oduyoye, who is a member of the team, said LASTMA will not hesitate to sanction any case of indiscriminate parking of trucks on port access roads.
Oduyoye lamented the lack of regulation of truckers and truck ownership, pointing out that most trucks are second hand and unserviceable. He said minimum standards are required for truck drivers and trucks.
On his part, the Executive Secretary/CEO of Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC, Hassan Bello, described the Apapa traffic situation as an international embarrassment.
He said the traffic in Apapa is affecting the efficiency of the port while assuring the Team that the Federal Ministry of Transportation has prioritised the solving of the Apapa traffic situation.
He cited the on-the-spot assessment visit to the ports by the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, the Permanent Secretary, Magdalene Ajani, and other top officials of the Ministry to Apapa in December 2020 as evidence of the Government’s commitment to the situation.
He said the Implementation Committee on the Ministerial Directives to decongest traffic gridlock along the Port Access Roads and Lagos Maritime Logistics Ring would work in tandem with the Task Team as a permanent solution to the Apapa traffic problem.
This he said will benefit all Nigerians by eliminating the distortions in prices of goods imported into Nigeria.
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