Apapa Gridlock relocating to residential areas of Satellite Town, Ajegunle, others
Fresh traffic confusion is brewing within major adjoining residential areas to Apapa since the observed apparent traffic sanity along ports access roads due to the activities of the Presidential Task Force.
Checks around major streets in Satellite Town, Ajegunle, Kirikiri Town and others showed what can be interpreted as relocation of sacked tankers and heavy duty vehicles on port access roads. Investigations revealed that truckers are relocating to inside residential streets due to the non-readiness of Truck Holding Bays and lack of spaces provided ahead of the presidential relocation order.
Already, landlords and tenants associations in concerned areas have sent a Save Our Souls alarm to the government calling for immediate removal of the articulated vehicles blocking their streets and causing traffic confusion.
This development is emerging as the Presidential Task Force has issued fresh Operational Guidelines and rule of engagements in the process of sanitizing traffic in Apapa going forward.
The guidelines as contained in a paper made available to stakeholders at a meeting held in Lagos, recently, stipulates continuous stakeholders’ engagement as one of the critical strategies.
Others are the deployment of effective and efficient traffic management system for the control of cargo and fuel distributions and business district traffic within the entire Port Area, the use of Dedicated Truck Parks at NPA Lilypond Terminal as temporary holding bays and the deployment of a revised effective Empty Container Return Management Policy.
The Guidelines have also aligned with the Nigerian Ports Authority’s (NPA) newly developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on Port Truck Clearance Procedures incorporating the temporary Manual Call-Up System for Empty Containers, Export containers and other port truck operations and vehicular movements are included in the operational guidelines.
In his remarks, Vice Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Restoration of Law and Order in Apapa, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, called on stakeholders to comply with the new directives.
