Articulated Vehicle Owners Call For Quick Completion Of Ports Access Roads    

Mr Godwin Ikeji, Secretary of Joint Council of Seaport Truckers (JCOST) on Tuesday called for quick completion of the ongoing rehabilitation of the Apapa ports access roads to facilitate trade.
Ikeji, who expressed satisfaction with the quality of work on the road in an interview in Lagos, described poor maintenance as the cause of the country’s moribund infrastructure.
He said that the maritime stakeholders were excited at the repair works on the ports access roads.
“The quick completion of the roads will bring relief to the maritime sector as many have closed shop because of the dwindling fortune caused by traffic.
“The monitoring authorities should be at alert to ensure that the construction firms do not cut corners both in the quality of the work done and the time frame.
“It is disturbing that the truck holding bay at the Liverpool area in Apapa, that is near completion for two years now is still lying fallow while truck drivers use the major roads as parks.’’
“The provision of truck bay is very essential if we must check traffic congestion on the roads.’’
He called for regular maintenance of the nation’s economic infrastructure as a way to encourage foreign direct investment in the non-oil sector.
Ikeji decried the lack of trained truck drivers in the sector, noting that most of them only learned on the job, therefore, lacking skills.
He also called for the establishment of the truck drivers school to enable would be drivers and the existing ones to update their skills for efficiency.
Ikeji identified the imposition of payment for stickers by the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the high fines imposed by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) as impediments to ports operations.
He noted that with the concession policy, operators expected improved services, adding that the bad roads linking the ports had become a source of concern to operators at the ports.