Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has directed the commencement of a 72-hour joint operation to restore order in Apapa and its environs after truck drivers had caused traffic gridlock and made vehicular movement impossible in Lagos.
He further urged Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs) to speed up the decongestion of Apapa Port.
According to the Vice President’s directive, the operation would be carried out by the Police, Nigeria Navy, Nigeria Army, the Nigeria Air Force, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Nigeria Civil Defence and Security Corps ,NSCDC, Lagos State Traffic Management Agency ,LASTMA, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency ,LASEMA, Container truck drivers, National Association of Road Transport Owners, NURTW, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas ,NUPENG, and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria .
Osinbajo landed first at the Tin Can Island park, flown in by a Nigerian Navy chopper, and accompanied by the Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi and senior Naval and Police officers.
He walked close to the traffic to see the situation of things and then proceeded to the Five Star Berth at the Nigeria Port Authority, NPA, where he met with relevant officials and security officers.
The plan is to, within 72 hours, take all the necessary and appropriate steps to restore order to the traffic situation and speed up work on the port decongestion.
Similar orders were made in the past. They all failed to clear the mess of the tanker drivers.
The Lagos state government has started evacuating articulated vehicles parked along the Apapa-Oshodi expressway.
Olawale Musa, the general manager of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), said the step is a bid to ensure safety and a free flow of traffic on the route.
Musa said the government began clearing the tankers off Apapa-Mile 2 axis on Wednesday. According to him, no responsible government would fold its arms and allow lawlessness and impunity to reign.
He added that the administration of Akinwunmi Ambode, the state governor, is up to its responsibilities and would not shy away from attending to the plight of the people.
He said a special task force comprising the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigerian navy, police, civil defence and LASTMA had been given the duty to rid the road of the tankers.
“This made them park on the main carriageways for days and in the process impeding the free flow of traffic,” Musa said.
“This was largely due to the fact that shipping companies that were supposed to provide holding bays for the empty containers in accordance with the license issued for them to operate in the country have either refused to provide or the ones existing were inadequate.
“The stakeholders have therefore resorted that henceforth, these vehicles are to use the following holding bays and terminals which includes, Comet Terminal, Joatelim, Ballore Transport and Logistics, HBX Terminal, Unity Bonded Terminal, Falcon Terminal, Port and Marine services and Duncan Terminal for their activities.”
He also said all the trucks currently loading at the port would be issued a docket, indicating where they should return their empty containers instead of waiting on the roads to return them.
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