After
a week-long outright blockage of all access roads to Apapa and
intractable gridlock resulting from it, the Lagos State Government
yesterday ordered all trailers, trucks and oil tankers to stay off all
roads within the state immediately...
Consequently,
the state government directed the operatives of the State Traffic
Management Authority (LASTMA), Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and the State
Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit among
others to deny all articulated vehicles access to the state.
The
directive was issued at an inter-ministerial news conference at the
Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa yesterday, lamenting implication of
the gridlock for state’s economy and health of the residents.
The
conference was addressed by the Commissioner for Information &
Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde; the General Manager of Lagos State
Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu and President
of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMARTO), Mr. Remi Ogungbemi
among others.
In
the last fortnight, more than 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 convey commodities to their various
destinations.
The
influx of articulated vehicles had culminated in intractably protracted
gridlock that shut down Ikorodu Road and subjected residents and
motorists to undue hardship on the roads before getting to their destinations.
By
implication, the state government convoked the news conference where it
directed all trailers, trucks and oil tankers “to stay off all Lagos
roads for now as a result of massive gridlock on Ikorodu road leading to
Apapa.”
At the news conference, Elegushi identified the breakdown of operations at the ports as the roots cause of the gridlock.
The
commissioner, equally, lamented that the situation had become so
terrible that the state government must take drastic steps to remedy the
situation, which has seen the gridlock extending from Apapa to
Ojuelegba.
“The
port operators must solve the problem immediately so that Lagos
residents and motorists would enjoy some respite. We appeal to owners of
articulated trailers and tankers to stay away from Lagos for now until
we resolve the problem.”
Elegushi
added that officers of LASTMA and RRS had been mobilised “to prevent
all trailers, trucks and oil tankers from gaining access to Lagos for
now. All articulated vehicles should stay at Ogere and other areas
pending the resolution of the gridlock in the state.”
He,
therefore, appealed to all motorists and road users in the state “to
seek alternative routes for now until the challenge of Apapa’s gridlock
is resolved.”
Also,
at the conference, Ayorinde said: “More than 2,000 trucks are currently
struggling to gain access into the port. As responsive government, we
cannot allow these pains to continue. We are taking steps to mitigate
the problem to ensure that Lagos residents are not subjected to these
avoidable pains and sufferings.”
Tiamiyu
lamented the consequence of the gridlock, noting that the traffic
situation in Apapa had been very tough in the recent times.
“If there is an explosion in the area today, it will be grave because there is no access to Apapa,” Tiamiyu said.
He
said the agency had sent drones “to monitor the situation in Apapa for
proper government intervention, while urging Lagos residents to report
any untoward situation to the agency through the dedicated 767 emergency
line.
“The
state government is on top of the situation. We will enforce the law to
ensure that Lagos is not shutdown,” he said, adding that “this is a
challenging time, we have declared emergency around that area.”
Giving
a stakeholder’s perspective, Ogungbemi said the situation in Apapa
represented a time bomb that could explode anytime, saying that no
amount of money was too much “to ensure safety of lives and properties.
“The
situation is a time bomb that can explode. The federal government
should collaborate with the state so that the problem will be over; we
don’t want to wait until it happens before they start sending relief
materials. We are ready to give necessary support until sanity returns
to Apapa.”
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