Epidemic looms as waste, filth beseige Apapa port

There is Palpable fears of outbreak of epidemic loom around the Apapa port in Lagos due to the increasing state of refuse and waste along the port access road, just at the entrance of Nigeria’s busiest port.

According to investigations, the huge heaps of refuse which had been scattered along the Wharf road, the major access road into the Apapa port in Lagos, has remained uncleared for more than two months now, fuelling fears of a possible outbreak of epidemic around the nation’s seaport.

Further findings revealed that the refuse and waste are a fallout of street hawking and trading activities that pervades the Burma junction and Wharf road axis, just adjacent the Apapa Customs Command of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).

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According to Mrs. Tinuola Olawunmi, a banker with one of the commercial banks located along the Wharf road in Apapa,she said “the trading activities that pervade the Wharf road axis leading into the port, particularly from the Flourmills roundabout down to Eleganza roundabout and Burma junction of the road, is the major reason why there is refuse everywhere.

“The heaps of refuse keeps increasing because nobody is coming to clear them. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), who controls the Apapa port on-behalf of government is not saying anything. The NPA has a General Manager in charge of the Lagos Port Complex, and they cannot claim not to see this embarrassing heaps of refuse just in front of the port. What have they done? Nothing.

“Because the nation’s busiest port is here makes the situation embarrassing to the country. I don’t work in the port, but I know that the port is a national edifice that should not be surrounded by filth and refuse. Do we have to wait until there is an epidemic outbreak before we do something? People buy food and eat right beside this heaps of waste and refuse, so anything can happen.”

When contacted, the NPA explained that the responsibility of clearing waste and refuse along the Wharf road lies with the Apapa Local Government.

The agency, however, said that efforts to persuade the Apapa Local Government to clear the waste have not been successful over a month now.

In the words of the Spokesman of the NPA, Adams Jato, “this is purely the responsibility of the Apapa local government and the port management has engaged them severally to be up to their responsibilities, but the local government just couldn’t do the needful.

“The port had on few occasions intervened to ensure the place is kept clean while we engaged the local government to be up to their responsibilities.”