There are indications that the Federal Government may have concluded plans for immediate evacuation of petroleum product tankers and other articulated trucks that have been impeding free flow of traffic along the Apapa-Oshodi expressway in Lagos.
Already, Shipping Position Daily gathered that a body known as; Federal Road Committee on Surveillance and Action Against Road Abuse (FERCSAARA) has been constituted to handle the evacuation process and this will take place on all strategic roads in the country.
There are indications that the Federal Government may have concluded plans for immediate evacuation of petroleum product tankers and other articulated trucks that have been impeding free flow of traffic along the Apapa-Oshodi expressway in Lagos.
Already, Shipping Position Daily gathered that a body known as; Federal Road Committee on Surveillance and Action Against Road Abuse (FERCSAARA) has been constituted to handle the evacuation process and this will take place on all strategic roads in the country.
The body, which according to sources was carved out of the Federal Road Management Authority (FERMA), has held meetings with tank farm operators and other stakeholders around the Apapa tank farms, as well as ports and terminal operators.
A source told our correspondent that the FERCSAARA has already been mobilized by the government to purchase equipment, such as towing vans to work with.
It would be recalled that the Lagos State Government has made several failed attempts to evacuate tanker drivers from the ever-busy expressway even as the drivers’ unions have also exonerated themselves from blames about the real cause of the traffic congestion.
Also, in the wake of the fuel scarcity last month, not less than 400 fuel tankers were said to be trooping into Apapa in Lagos everyday to load products.
Confirming the development to our correspondent last week however, Chairman of the Technical Committee of Tank Farm operators at the Ibru Jetty, Mr. Okorie Godfrey said that the FERCSAARA has held meetings with the operators at the jetty on its commencement of operations.
"Last month, they promised coming back by the second week of March to clear the road, but I told them that they must first get the road in order. There is this abandoned project at the expressway causing the traffic", he said.
According to him, this body had assured the stakeholders that it already has a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Alhaji Al hassan Dantata, Chairman, Multi Haulic Limited on the use of its Mega truck park along Badagry Expressway in Lagos where they want to tow all the vehicles.
"We had a meeting with them and they told us that they have the mandate of the Presidency to decongest strategic links like the Apapa-Wharf, Oshodi expressway and others, we gave them our backing, but since we met last I don't know what has happened"
"Though we told them where the problem is coming from, when you are sick and you do not know the cause of the sickness, you may not be able to cure it, the bottom line is that the roads are bad" he stressed.
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