The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Rear-Adm. Ilesanmi Alade, said yesterday that traffic congestion in Apapa, Lagos had increased challenges for security agencies in the area.
Alade, who made the assertion in an interview with newsmen , said that the Nigerian Navy (NN) was worried about the traffic congestion along major roads leading to the Apapa and Tin-Can ports.
The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Rear-Adm. Ilesanmi Alade, said yesterday that traffic congestion in Apapa, Lagos had increased challenges for security agencies in the area.
Alade, who made the assertion in an interview with newsmen , said that the Nigerian Navy (NN) was worried about the traffic congestion along major roads leading to the Apapa and Tin-Can ports.
He said that the Nigeria Navy had on July 10, 2014, launched Operation “Gbale“ (a Yoruba word for `sweeping'), to enable it to be able to evolve adequate strategies to cope with the challenge.
The FOC said that the special security outfit was set up to secure people and goods trapped in the gridlock.
Alade said that the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft and NNS Wey, under the command of Commodore Ovenseri Uwadiae, had also been put on standby to manage any unwholesome issues around the ports.
“Already, personnel of the service are at Mile 2 area, Berger, up to the Tin-Can Island area, Ijora, Liverpool, Marine Beach and all the adjourning roads leading to Apapa.
“We have flown across Apapa and its environs to feed the ground personnel with aerial photographs and videos of the traffic situation in the various areas.
“This is done with the support of the air wing of the NN, who have helped the personnel in taking proactive decisions in decongesting the area.
“The Apapa gridlock has affected a lot of businesses and also created security problems in this particular area and we are most concerned, given the security situation in the country,“ Alade said.
He said that the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Jibrin Usman, had directed the Nigerian Navy to take necessary measures immediately, to allow the free flow of traffic and allow legitimate businesses to continue to thrive in Apapa.
“Before carrying out the operation, we contacted other security agencies and other stakeholders like the Lagos State Government, the Police, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA).
“ Some decorum has returned to Apapa and motorists can now move around freely.
“We might not be there forever, but we are already inculcating the real sense of responsibility in the tanker drivers, so that they can begin to do things the right way.
“ So that even when we withdraw our men, sanity will reign supreme.
“Since we began our operations and free flow of traffic ensued, the tanker drivers are now better for it, as they are also enjoying the dividends of free roads, thereby ensuring that they are able to pick up cargoes on time and leave the ports.”
“We must continue to show our presence in Apapa and its environs, until the situation returns to normal as we are also educating them to be responsible by the time we withdraw our men,” he added.
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