The National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has said that the constant falling of containers at Coconut bus stop up till Tin- Can first gate necessitated the group’s move to put palliatives on the road.
The Lagos state Vice Chairman Dry Cargo, NARTO, Alhaji Abdullahi Inuwa, who said this in Lagos recently also said that the association has so far spent more than N2.1million in the palliative work going on at the failed porion of the expressway.
He disclosed that before the association decided to carry out palliatives on the road, about 17 containers had fallen between the Tin-Can 2nd gate and the Capital Oil jetty.
“Since after our last meeting with NPA management where they agreed that they will embark on some palliatives from Creek Road down to Tin-Can up to Capital Oil depot for the place to be motorable, we did not see anything. We didn’t see the palliatives coming from either the Federal Ministry of Works or from the NPA management. It was based on the delay that we initiated our own palliative measure. I called on my members that it is not good for us to fold our hands and watch our investments being destroyed because of the bad road and no assistance from the government. Each trip cost us about N150, 000. And so far, we have used, eight trips of stones, multiply N150, 000 by eight”
He applauded their sister association, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) for their support.
“RTEAN also supported us with one trip apart from the labour expenses and other logistics. Our National Secretariat also contributed to the project because they helped us with two trips”
He also said that the insurance companies are not coming forth to help those who have policies with them even as he applauded Royal Salt companies for helping out with trips of sand at time to the bad spot.
“The insurance companies are not forthcoming even for those who have policies with them. I sold the idea of helping ourselves to them. We understand that sometimes Royal Salt do come and pour some trips of sand but the sand they pour especially at coconut area once there it rains, it will be washed away. So we had to go and get hard core stones from Ibadan and Abeokuta. I have to commend my members for accepting that my initiative and they responded quickly. That was how we raised money. Since after the palliatives, we have never had any case of container falling off the truck not until last month when I got a report that about three trucks were hooked at a ditch along the service lane immediately after coconut where a container fall. I called my members and we raised money and get two trips of hard core stones which we filled there”
He added that the former Commissioner of Works, Lagos State, Hon. Kayode Opeifa, had earlier promised to give them ten trips of concrete that they excavated from the ongoing reconstruction of Wharf Road which he said they were yet to collect.
“We have saved them a lot because I know that any truck that falls before you will be able to bring back that truck to life a minimum of N500,000 may have gone into repair works. Apart from that, there is no how you will go two trips following the condition of the road that you will not go for thorough check-up because some of the vehicle compartments may have broken down”, he added.
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