The Federal Roads Committee on Surveillance and Action Against Road Abuse (FERCSARA) has berated security and traffic agencies working in Apapa for not working 24hours in controlling traffic around the port.
South West Coordinator of the FERCSARA, Chief Austen Kelly told Shipping Position Daily in Lagos yesterday that the only way out of the chaotic situation in Apapa is for commercial and private motorists to drive against traffic.
Kelly alleged that FERCSARA was frustrated by government agencies at the port, he said they have chosen to snub the agency whenever it requests for assistance. He lamented that the committee does not have a budget.
Kelly said the bad state of the Apapa road is already discouraging investors from coming to Apapa. According to him, the Apapa as a whole is a dead place at night.
"For sometime now you would realise that you don't usually see my people on the road much, they set us up and gave us solders, civil defense and police, we equally have FERCSARA marshals to do the job"
"We have written series of letters to the honorable minister, he continued promising us that he is coming, but nothing is being done.
We went into collaboration with NPA and the Nigeria Shippers Council but nothing good came out of it"
According to Kelly, Apapa is ‘dead’. He noted that commercial buses no longer get to their bus stop at the port.
"This is why I said that corruption is a cankerworm, it doesn’t allow us to see the right things to be done. Tell me why we cannot control the traffic in Apapa"
"Now they said they are constructing roads, Apapa is almost dead, things are not moving fine, after loading, trucks stay in one position for three hours, they said they are working but we don't see anybody doing the job"
"The situation is already discouraging investors from coming to Apapa. The Apapa as a whole is a dead place at night, but it is supposed to be the gateway to the economy of this country.
You don't see the road workers working at night, such an important, they supposed to be working twenty four hours"
"The only way to do the job now is for trucks to take one way traffic to Apapa, ijora is now the last bus stop and trinity.
Anybody can take one way now as far as we are concerned, we don't stop anybody from plying knew way within Apapa now"
"I told my people not to disturb anybody for now, let's be doing it like that" he said .
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