On Thursday, March 15, 2012, the Even Presidential Committee on Port Reform gave its words that by the week starting from Sunday, March 18, 2012 no container- laden trucks and other articulated vehicles will be sighted on the ever-busy Apapa-Oshodi expressway.
The assurance was given by no less a person than the committee’s chairman who is also Senior Special Adviser to the President on project monitoring and evaluation, Prof Sylvester Monye.
On Thursday, March 15, 2012, the Even Presidential Committee on Port Reform gave its words that by the week starting from Sunday, March 18, 2012 no container- laden trucks and other articulated vehicles will be sighted on the ever-busy Apapa-Oshodi expressway.
The assurance was given by no less a person than the committee’s chairman who is also Senior Special Adviser to the President on project monitoring and evaluation, Prof Sylvester Monye.
But all through last week, there are no signs that the order to vacate the expressway is being taken seriously by truck drivers and owners.
As at last weekend, the container laden trucks were still sighted by our correspondents at the Apapa end of the expressway, still queuing up and ‘spilling over’ to the highway. The trucks were visible sometimes, right from the Sunrise or Coconut bus stops to Tin Can/ Second gate bus stop, thereby creating the usual bottleneck.
Prof Monye had assured journalists on March 15 that container trucks coming in to pick or to drop their containers at the ports will no longer be coming directly to the port or queue along the expressway, they are now to be going to the holding bays of the shipping companies from where they will be called to the ports.
He had disclosed at the media parley, that prior to last week, the committee had met with some stakeholders. “It was agreed at our meeting that henceforth, there will be a triangular movement of trucks at the ports, all empty containers being brought to the port will be offloaded at the holding bays and off dock terminals, therefore those which enter the port are those that have cargo to pick or containers to clear, so there will be no more direct entry into the port, trucks coming into the port with empty containers will be going directly to the holding bays of the shipping lines, and when the containers are required at the port, they will be lifted from there” Monye stated.
Giving further details, he had assured that from last week, no truck will be allowed to enter into the port without a permit which will henceforth be issued to the truck drivers, without this, they will not be allowed to enter into the port.
All the assurances have become mere promises, there is no feasible sign of the truck drivers vacating the expressway for anywhere.
When contacted early last week, the chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMARTO), Chief Remi Ogungbemi told Shipping Position Daily that the truck owners have not been informed of any such decision. “We are not aware of that directive; they should have invited us to the meeting”.
According to him, government is not yet ready to solve the problem of traffic on Apapa Oshodi expressway. “When they are ready, they will do the right”, and when asked about what the right thing is, he said the solution is to create a large-enough holding bay for the containers.
Chief Ogungbemi said the holding bays of the shipping companies which trucks are supposed to be going to are already filled to the brim.
Speaking exclusively to Shipping Position Daily correspondent in Lagos last week, he said that even though most of the shipping companies have holding bays where containers are dropped, “the problem is that all these holding bays are filled to the brim and that is why you see so many trucks in Apapa”
“Containers are supposed to be dropped directly at the port, because the containers are going to be returned to its origin through the ship, so it is wrong for them to be taken to holding bays”
“I attended one of the committee’s meetings and I told them then that the scheme cannot work, I don’t see how it can work, but however, let us give majority opinion a trial”.
Efforts to reach the presidential committee chairman for reaction proved abortive as he refused to answer the several telephone calls that were made to him.
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