THE moves of the House of Representatives to clear fuel
tankers from Apapa road, Lagos in order to pave way for the maintenance may
take long to be accomplished as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) said it was awaiting the House report on the subject...
The House order
also seemed to have been misdirected as the Corporation added that it has no
direct control over the major and independent marketers that have tank farms in
Apapa, Lagos, adding that they were private companies. NNPC Mr. Ndu Ughamadu,
Group General Manager of the Corporation said in a telephone interview with
Vanguard that:’’NNPC has not yet received any report from the House of
Representatives. ‘’We need to get, study and understand the House of
Representatives report on this issue before we can respond. We cannot do so at
this time because we do not have the facts. ‘’However, it should be noted that
the owners of the tank farms are private entities who do not report to NNPC.
The NNPC have a business relationship with them but they do not report to us.
It should also be noted that there are government agencies that grant
approvals, permits and licenses to enable them operate anywhere in the country.
” Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Ministry of Power, Works and Housing could not be
reached for comments yesterday. But Engr. Godwin Eke, Federal Controller of
Works, Lagos also disclosed in a telephone interview with Vanguard that he has
not yet been officially informed of the development. ‘’I will not like to
comment on this until I have read the House of Representatives report,” he
said. We just heard about it – LASG In a like manner, the Lagos State
Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Wasiu Anifowoshe,
said: “I just came out of the weekly executive meeting. I have not heard of it.
I believe by tomorrow, we would have studied the directive from the lawmakers
and possible say one or two things about it.” But another official who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said that the tank farms in Apapa axis of the state
were not the cause of gridlocks experienced there. The reaction came barely
hours after House of Representatives’ directives to Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, to immediately commence the process of relocating tank farms
away from Apapa. Reacting over the lawmaker’s action, the official, disclosed
to Vanguard that the reaction of the House of Representatives does not truly
reflect the present situation within the port. He noted that, though their
directive was to assist, but the issue presently crippling commercial
activities within the axis was the operation of Nigerian Port Authority, NPA
and the Shippers Council. Vanguard however gathered that the House was working
to communicate its decisions to relevant stakeholders in order to get their
support for the road rehabilitation. The House of Representatives yesterday
urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to immediately
commence the process of relocating tank farms domiciled in the Apapa axis of
Lagos State. The House also mandated its Committee on Petroleum Downstream to
liaise with NNPC to ensure that only tankers with Authority to Load, ATL, were
allowed to go into Apapa. It also urged the Ministry of Power, Works and
Housing and the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, to put pressure on the
contractor handling the truck park at Tin Can Island to ensure timely
completion of the site. These were some resolutions the House made at plenary
as a way of finding lasting solution to the perennial gridlock in the area. The
development was sequel to a motion by Hon. Ayodeji Joseph (Apapa Federal
Constituency, APC) under Matter of Urgent Public Importance. The Motion Moving
the motion titled, “Urgent Need to Address the Resurgent Traffic Gridlock in
Apapa” earlier, Hon. Joseph recalled that several interventions of the Lagos
State government, among others, to free the zone of serpentine traffic jams had
failed, and appealed to members to grant the prayers of his motion. He said:
“The House notes that the perennial traffic gridlock in Apapa has subsisted despite
efforts of government to find a permanent solution to it. “Also notes those
economic and vehicular activities in the corridor which is a major gateway to
the Nation’s foremost seaport has been adversely affected by the menace. “Aware
that in the first two weeks of September alone, over 2,000 trailers, trucks and
oil tankers had massively flooded Ikorodu Road all through to Apapa in bid to
get into the Port and tank farms to covey commodities to their various
destinations. “Also aware that in response to the recent blockage of all access
roads to Apapa and the intractable traffic gridlock that resulted from it, the
Lagos State Government ordered all trailers, trucks and oil tankers to stay off
all the roads within the state. “Further aware that Lagos State government has
mobilized resources to ensure articulated vehicles stay away from Lagos until
the traffic logjam is resolved while the representative of Apapa Constituency 1
in the State Assembly, Mrs. Mojisola Miranda has also raised concerns about the
problem. “Concerned that breakdown of operations at Apapa port is touted as the
cause of the gridlock which extended from Apapa to Ojuelegba with its attendant
dislocation of economic activities. “Worried that if something urgent is not
done, port activities will be in jeopardy and revenue to the nation’s coffers
will dwindle astronomically.” In their separate contributions, Hon James
Faleke, Rita O Orji and JideJide Jimoh who are all lawmakers from Lagos,
supported the motion. When committed to voice vote by the presiding officer and
Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, the motion got the support of the House. Meanwhile, the
House mandated its Committee on Ports, Harbours and Waterways to investigate
the cause of the dislocation in port operations which is suspected to have led
to the renewed gridlock and report to the House within three weeks. Lagos
Assembly expresses concern A few days ago, the Lagos State House of Assembly
had also called on the NNPC to relocate the tank farms in Apapa to a less
congested area, saying that it is causing traffic logjam and endangering the
lives of the residents. A member representing Apapa constituency 1, Mrs.
Mojisola Miranda, who raised the issue under matter of urgent public importance
on during plenary, had said that the activities of the tanker drivers in Apapa
are not only affecting traffic in the area, but that it has extended to other
parts of the state. She had urged the Assembly to invite the state’s acting
Commissioner for Transport and the Managing Director of the Lagos State Traffic
Management Authority (LASTMA) to brief the house on how they would handle the
matter.
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