The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo is expected to visit Apapa today.
Recalled that the Presidency last month had ordered an immediate clearance of the Apapa gridlock and the restoration of law and order to Apapa and its environs within two weeks which uptill today has not been achieved.
Despite the presidential order for the relocation of trucks from roads in Apapa and its environs, the enforcement is suffering set back following the continued presence of articulated trucks on most of the routes.
Gridlock is still being experienced on most of the roads, indicating that there is practically little or no improvement since the task force commenced duties. The Presidency directive was contained in a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, OFFICE of the Vice President, Laolu Akande on Wednesday in Abuja.
The directive mandated the immediate removal of all trucks from the bridges and roads within Apapa and all adjoining streets leading into the Apapa axis. According to the statement, the directive was as a result of an emergency meeting convened by President Muhammadu Buhari and chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, on the 25th of April, 2019.
Also recalled that the Lagos State governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Wednesday denied promising to decongest the Oshodi-Apapa expressway within his first 60 days in office but said his government would carry out a review of previous activities on the road within 60 days Sanwo-Olu said he had closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on plans to develop Lekki and Badagry seaports in order to decongest the Apapa port Oshodi-Apapa gridlock
He said : “The real construction of the road has started, but it is not at the stage in which we can feel the full impact of it. The movement of the trucks has also started.
There is a lily pond terminal that has been created with the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, and other terminal operators which I imagined have started doing what we call the call-up system.
“What I understand by the call up is that it is a system that needs to be a bit more electronically driven. I think it’s currently run manually now but if we can get a software that can enhance it and enforce it, the call-up system can become something that can hold the truck drivers accountable. If you’re not called on to come into the port, you are not meant to come.
“But beyond that, it is to look at the entire value chain, who are the users and who are the operators in that space. So, you have the shipping companies, the port terminal operators, the Nigeria Shippers Council, you have the NPA who are the major anchor tenant there, then you also have all sort of operators – LASTMA who are supposed to be the arm of Lagos State helping hand, the police, who ought to help out with security and one or two others. So, we all need to complement each other. (Vanguard)