The Team Lead of the Presidential Task Force on Apapa gridlock, Mr Kayode Opeifa has revealed that the normal yuletide rush at the ports, coupled with the fact that Nigeria’s borders are currently closed, are the major reasons why the traffic snarl popular known as ‘Apapa gridlock’ is back around the ports in Lagos.
Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune exclusively via telephone, the former Commissioner of Transportation in Lagos State revealed that the ports is currently overwhelmed due to the influx of cargoes that came in courtesy the border closure policy of the government and the yuletide rush.
According to Kayode Opeifa, “It is wrong to say that the traffic gridlock has caused congestion at the ports. No, that statement is not true. The reality now is that the ports are overwhelmed because all the cargoes that usually discharge in Cotonou port in Benin Republic have now been forced to come to our ports, thereby doubling the amount of cargoes that the ports in Lagos usually handle.
“Don’t forget that we are in the yuletide period, and during this period, there is usually an increase in the amount of cargoes handled at the ports. So, with the yuletide rush coupled with the border closure, the volume of cargoes inside the port is overwhelming.
“Therefore, because the volume of cargoes inside the port is overwhelming, trucks are not being allowed to enter into the ports. Until the ones inside the ports leave, fresh trucks won’t be allowed in, and that is the major reason we have the gridlock back on our port access roads.
“Another issue causing the gridlock is the number of tickets issued to tanker drivers. The number of tickets issued to petroleum tankers has doubled the number of available tank farms. So many petroleum tankers trucks are on the port access roads with tickets even when they have already outnumbered the number of tank farms in Apapa.
“The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) have this statistics, and they made it available to some of us. So, it is erroneous for you journalist to write that the traffic gridlock is causing port congestion. Rather, it is port congestion that has led to the return of the traffic gridlock along the port access roads.
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“Take a look at the trucks that are lined up along the port access roads, they are not moving because inside the port is full due to border closure and yuletide rush reasons. And that is why the roads leading out of the port is free while only the roads leading into the port is busy. If you want to go into the port now, you have to go through one way because the roads leading into the port is filled with trucks waiting to go inside the port. They cannot go now because inside the port is filled to capacity.
“There is only.congestion when trucks cannot access the ports. In this case, the trucks are lined up waiting to go inside the port, but cannot go in because inside the port is filled. Go to the entrance of the port, you will see that the port gate entrance is free. That should tell you that the trucks were deliberately kept some distance away because there is no space inside the port for them.”
On the effort being put in by his Committee, which reports to the office of the Vice President, Mr Kayode Opeifa stated that his committee has finished the task given to it.
“We have completed our mandate to rid the ports off articulated trucks in September. Ours is a task team, we were not meant to remain at the ports forever. In September, we cleared all the ports access roads off articulated vehicles.
“If the articulated vehicles are back, it is because the stakeholders who were supposed to take over from us have not done that. The stakeholders are the LASTMA, NPA and others.
“We have completed our task and supposed.to have left the ports, but we cannot leave because the stakeholders who have responsibilities to take over from us have failed to do so,” Kayode Opeifa added.
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