Oluyinka Onigbinde
Very senior Customs Officers and top executives of some government agencies operating in Apapa now patronize commercial motorcycles, popularly called Okada, to their various offices owing to the increasingly bad state of the Apapa end of the Apapa-Oshodi expressway in Lagos.
Our correspondent who monitored vehicular activities along the Tin Can Port access road observed that traffic gridlock has grounded all human and vehicular activities along the route for weeks, due to the never-ending road construction along the axis and the activities of articulated vehicle drivers who parked indiscriminately on the expressway.
Our correspondent reported that the road from Ijesha bus stop to Berger Cement bus stop, along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway was completely blocked.
The situation according to some truck drivers who spoke to our correspondent worsened due to lack of holding bays, truck parks and the current road rehabilitation, thus subjecting motorists, residents, commuters and other road users to untold hardship.
Investigations by Shipping Position Daily showed that the gridlock which eased about one month ago has resurfaced and it is being compounded by the activities of security personnel who were stationed on the road to manage the traffic and the collaboration of non-state actors who extort.
Road users also lamented that the gridlock has caused more havoc for them as traffic robbers are now taking advantage of the situation to dispossess them of their valuable items both day and night.
A Customs officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity blamed the situation on the slow space of the ongoing road construction, adding that the gridlock has negatively affected Customs operations and revenue generation.
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He confirmed to our correspondent that senior officers of the NCS operating in the axis have now resolved to get special okada men who pick them after the Ijesha Bus stop to their various commands. The same is done after close of work everyday.
“On several occasions, we have to hire special Okada (bikes) for our Comptrollers and Deputy Comptrollers before they could access their commands. This is telling on our efficiency and operations because before getting here, we must have spent hours in the traffic. The situation is terrible my brother,” he lamented.
A freight forwarder, Ezeanyangwu Okafor said there has not been any respite on the road despite the e-call-up system, which he said has become a money making venture for some people benefiting from the situation.
According to him, the traffic situation persists due to poor access roads and the failure of the government to prevail on the contractor handling the construction of the Apapa-Oshodi expressway to expedite action.
He said: “There will be gridlock because the NPA electronic call-up is just a nomenclature. The e call-up system is a money-making venture for NPA and some people are benefiting from it. For each call up, trucks pay N10,000, but this is just the official money. They still part with other money being given to security operatives before they get to the port.”
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