…As touts take over traffic control
Motorists and commuters plying the Apapa-Oshodi expressway in Lagos have continued to languish in the unending gridlock arising from the indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles amid deplorable state of the road.
The Lagos State Special Traffic Enforcement and Management Team set up by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to create a new operational template and restore sanity after taking over traffic management from the disbanded Presidential Taskforce on Port Decongestion, has abandoned the task in apparent frustration.
Sanwo-Olu, had, during one of his visits to Apapa ports, stressed that the sharp practices and inadequacies observed in the handling of the container operations at the ports would be escalated to the Minister of Transport, adding that the misconducts of the policemen stationed close to the ports would be reported to the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Also, the electronic-Call Up system – ‘Eto’, introduced in February last year to regulate movement of container laden trucks into the ports, has since collapsed as truck drivers ignored the system and opted for former arrangements of bribing their way through to the ports.
The new operational template expected to be enforced by a combined team of officers of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the police, has been left in the hands of touts, and transport union members who are busy extorting truck drivers for access.
The situation, which has continued to worsen on a daily basis, left many motorists and commuters stranded on Sunday, as they spent several hours in the traffic.
On Sunday, the Apapa-Oshodi expressway was completely blocked by truck drivers who parked indiscriminately on the road, leaving no access to other road users. LASTMA and police officer detailed to control the traffic had idled away, leaving the highway completely shutdown.
A motorist who works in Apapa, Mr. Shola Adeola, recounted his experience, saying: “Driving through Apapa-Oshodi expressway has become a nightmare. The journey that should take me less than 10 minutes, I ended up spending four hours from Second Rainbow to Berger Yard. I could not see a single traffic officer managing the situation. The only men on the road were hoodlums and transport union members. For how long are we the residents continue in this. Government has finally abandoned us to our fate in Apapa,” he lamented.
Also, a commuter, Mrs. Elizabeth Akeju, said: “I spend up to eight hours everyday trying to pass through Mile-2 to Oshodi, where I do my business. No thanks to indiscriminate parking by truck drivers and deplorable road at Lacasera, along the expressway.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Lagos Traffic Management and Enforcement Team, Mr. Toyinka Fayinka, who doubles as Special Adviser to the governor could not be reached on the worsening traffic situation on the road.
But a former President of the National Association Road Transport Owners, (NARTO), Mr. Inuwa Mohammed said that the electronic call up system has not been effective in that axis.
Inuwa also noted that security agents and hoodlums have also taken over the control of traffic between Mile and Tin-Can Island Port, adding that the road construction currently going on is also a factor hindering traffic.
He argued that the electronic call-up system was not properly done, adding that there is a need to go back to the drawing board and re-strategize with a view to improving on the system.
– Media Report