What solution will you proffer to alleviate the gridlock caused by fuel tankers on Lagos roads?

Francis Omotosho (Registrar, NAGAFF Academy)

A lot of brainstorming has been done by various stakeholders and all users of Tincan Mile 2 port access road have proffered different solutions to solve the traffic gridlock. However, the perennial traffic gridlock has defied all solutions. Hence, for me, the only sustainable and far reaching lasting solution is to carry out a survey and diagnose the four transport infrastructural systems on the Tincan road:- The Way, The Terminal, The Carrying Unit and The Motive Power.
To be honest with you, the only sustainable and lasting solution to this perennial gridlock problem is to mandate and enforced all the Farm Tanks and Wet Cargo Terminal Operators along the Tincan Mile 2 port access road corridor to provide adequate Truck Parking Lots inside their terminal to the capacity they can handle during loading operations, without any truck parking outside the road. If they can expand their terminal yard park layout capable of absorbing all the trucks to load, then we will see the road free from traffic grid lock.

Mr. Adejumo Adebayo (AMATO Member)

I believe that the government does not have the political will to clear that road and the police are around there. Even the task force is not very powerful there, the tanker drivers are controlling them. They are doing their bidding. So, the task force is not strong enough to pull them off the roads. That’s the problem. I believe that the tank farms are supposed to be sanctioned. At least, you know how many you can load in a day. How come you carry more than what you can load and bring that to that place? They just park there, and they will use 10 to 20 days there and just mess up the place.
I believe that Lagos state has a task force. They don’t have the political will to drive those people away or to take a radical action on the tankers. This is because we have e-call up for the containers but we do not have for the tankers. So, those in charge of enforcing the law can either set it aside or make it work. But most of them, because of their personal gain, they set it aside and use the other way around. That Mile 2 Tin Can road is a road of corruption. Those task forces they send to that place are not doing the right thing. They are here to make money. That’s all.

Bala Muhammed (Administrative Secretary, AMATO)

The only viable solution to alleviating oil tankers gridlock around mile 2 Tin can axis is the use of an e-call up system to plan movement of these trucks based on request from their respective depots in an timely and organized manner.
As a back up to the e-call up system and to prevent indiscriminate parking of tank trucks along Tincan Mile 2 corridor, government should provide a dedicated park that would serve as a Pregate park for tanker trucks as they are arriving from different parts of the country to facilitate period batching into their selected depots.

Comrade Ifeanyi Abel Chukwu (Admin/Asst. Secretary, Merchant Navy)

One would have thought with the introduction of the Electronic Call-up system and the launch of the App called ETO, which truckers are expected to use to book turns to enter the ports, devoid of human-to-human interface, it would have been best solution to alleviate gridlock along Mile 2 , Tin Can Road, but the human element in Nigeria that has always defiled good policies that work in other clime had also crept in to make it ineffective. However, if there can be proper review or introduction of the Electronic Call-up system for tankers identifying and proffering solutions to the bottle neck as orchestrated by the human element. But ultimately if the tank farms can be decentralized, it’s going to proffer lasting solutions to alleviate the gridlock. Most of the cargo that are not meant for southwest have no business to be en-route via Lagos port.

Festus Ukwu (National Secretary, NCMDLCA)

The gridlock and long queue caused by tankers along the port access road in Lagos is often caused by the security agencies and other actors collecting illegal monies from the truck and tanker drivers. The government should ensure these illegal stop-overs created by these actors are totally eliminated from the road to have a free flow of traffic in and out of the port. There is also much pressure on the tank farms in Lagos. I believe the government can look at possible ways of reducing the pressure on Lagos port and develop other areas for these activities.

Clinton Okoro (APFFLON PRO, Tin Can Chapter)

The only remedy to it is to decongest Lagos state. We should not have tank farms on the very road we have our ports. The port is a very busy area with vehicles moving empty boxes or import and export laden boxes in and out of the ports. Unfortunately, due to the way we do things in Nigeria, most of the terminal operators don’t have holding bays to receive trucks and boxes. If they consider the type of traffic on that road, they shouldn’t have allowed the tank farms at the axis.
The federal government should relocate those tank farms. There are places where those tank farms can be. Those tank farms should not be centered in Lagos alone. There are so many other places we have water or riverside where they can be located.

Mr Rowaye Jubril (General Secretary, NISA)

The problem of Apapa gridlock is multidimensional. There are many activities around Tin Can Island Port that are not directly involved in the operations of general cargo handling. Some of these activities include the oil tank farm and trucking activities, also many bonded terminals that are clustered around the Tin Can port should not have been allowed. In addition, the car market should be relocated.