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 challenges in the area.
The Chairman of the Task Team, Mr Toyin Fayinka, disclosed this in a statement signed by Mrs Rakiya Zubairu, Head of Public Relations, NSC, on Wednesday in Lagos.
Fayinka who is also the Special Assistant on Transportation to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu said that the essence of the delegation’s recent visit to NSC was to introduce the team to the Council.
“The committee cannot succeed in its assignment without the support of the NSC, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and other agencies in the maritime sector,” he said.
Also, the General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr Jide Oduyoye, a member of the team, said that LASTMA would not hesitate to sanction any case of indiscriminate parking of trucks on port access roads.
He decried the lack of regulation of truckers and truck ownership, pointing out that most trucks were second hand and unserviceable, adding that minimum standards were required for truck drivers and trucks.
Responding, the Executive Secretary/CEO of NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, described the Apapa traffic situation as an international embarrassment.
He noted that the traffic in Apapa was affecting the efficiency of the port and assured the team that the Federal Ministry of Transportation had prioritised the solving of the Apapa traffic situation.
He said that evidence of this was the on-the-spot assessment visit paid to the Apapa ports by the Minister of Transportation, Mr Chibuike Amaechi; the Permanent Secretary, Dr Magdalene Ajani, and other top officials of the Ministry in December 2020.
He said that 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.
Bello added that it would serve as a permanent solution to the Apapa traffic problem and would benefit all Nigerians by eliminating the distortions in prices of goods imported into Nigeria.
