LAGOS—After over two years of respite from the perennial traffic congestion along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, container-laden articulated trucks and fuel tankers, yesterday, resurfaced around the Mile 2-Berger Yard axis, causing massive gridlock and obstructing vehicular movement after blocking access and adjoining roads.
The situation was worsened by indiscriminate parking on both sides of the road and reckless driving by truck drivers along the Mile 2-Tin Can corridor of the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.
Many commuters and other road users spent several hours on trips that ordinarily would have taken less than an hour, causing frustration among road users and commercial transport operators.
Most Vanguard’s staff, including the Political Editor, Clifford Ndujihe, said he spent about two hours travelling from Festac First Gate to Mile 2.
“From First Gate, Festac side, to the office, I spent two hours. That’s crazy. We were told there was road repair work ahead,” he said.
A commercial driver, who spoke anonymously, said he left Mile 2 around 1:20 p.m. but did not get to Apapa until almost 4 p.m.
“A journey that should ordinarily take less than an hour consumed nearly three hours,” he lamented.
Another commuter, Mrs. Kemi Adeyemi, said she spent over three hours trapped in traffic, adding: “The gridlock has been terrible today. Many people were forced to trek long distances to get to their destinations.”
One of the affected motorists, Mr. Lanre Akindele, urged authorities to address the situation before it returned to the chaotic experience residents and commuters had endured in the past.
“Just when we thought we had seen the end of the gridlock permanently on this axis, it has started rearing its ugly head again. It should be nipped in the bud before it snowballs into another intractable situation,” Akindele said.
Lagos talks tough
Reacting to the development, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, swung into action to restore traffic flow and, subsequently, evacuated several trucks from the road, issuing a stern warning to operators to stay off access roads and maintain a single lane.
The second-in-command at LASTMA and former Director of Operations, Peter Gbejemede, condemned the resurgence of indiscriminate parking by petroleum tankers on the highway, assuring residents that the agency was committed to ensuring seamless traffic movement along the corridor.
He said: “We have engaged the leadership of truck operators on the need to keep the corridor free or face severe consequences and sanctions.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the indiscriminate parking is linked to the activities of union agents at depot gates, who collect fees from each tanker before granting access into the depots.
“The backlog created by this process is what led to the indiscriminate parking. We are on top of the situation and necessary actions are being taken to restore sanity.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Olohundare Jimoh, was said to have ordered the immediate dismantling of illegal checkpoints mounted by police teams and other agencies along Apapa port access roads.
At least five police officers, whose names were withheld, were reportedly arrested during an enforcement operation carried out by a special task force deployed through the Area B Command.
NUPENG gives reasons
Reacting to the development, an official of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, blamed the surge in truck traffic on the aftermath of the Sallah holidays, explaining that Lagos, being the major fuel distribution hub, had attracted tanker drivers from different parts of the country.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, however clarified that while NUPENG controls members of its Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, branch, it has no control over containerised and articulated truck operators.
He said: “We can discipline our PTD members, whom we have consistently advised to obey traffic regulations, but we have no control over other truck drivers.
“We are not ruling out the possibility that some of our members, who came from the far North and other parts of the country may not fully understand the Lagos traffic environment and could follow other truck drivers to park indiscriminately. However, we always sanction any erring member caught by our monitoring team.”
He appealed to security agencies and other authorities to ensure orderliness and ease traffic flow to prevent commuters and road users from suffering unnecessarily.
Terminals filled up, says AMATO
Also reacting, Secretary-General of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners, AMATO, Mohammed Bala, attributed the congestion to the influx of trucks into port terminals after the Sallah celebrations.
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According to him, terminals, especially APM Terminals, are currently operating at full capacity.
He said: “Because of the festival celebrated last week, there has been a massive influx of trucks heading to the terminals. I contacted APMT and they informed me that the terminal is already filled up.
“They are admitting trucks gradually as space becomes available, but the traffic situation will soon ease.”
He explained that the situation was not limited to APMT alone, noting that several other terminals within the port corridor were also facing capacity challenges due to increased cargo and truck activities.
“I have also spoken with the Nigerian Ports Authority traffic manager and he assured us that they are on top of the situation,” he added.
The latest gridlock comes barely days after the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC, led by its Director-General, Princess Zahrah Audu, carried out a special enforcement operation to clear illegal checkpoints and extortion points along the Apapa port corridor.
The operation followed complaints over illegal activities by security personnel and touts, which had significantly increased the cost of doing business within the axis.
The PEBEC team, working with officials of the Nigeria Police; Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA; Nigeria Customs Service, NCS; National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA; Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, and Lagos State Government agencies, dismantled several illegal checkpoints across the corridor.
The checkpoints, scattered across major access routes to the Apapa ports, had allegedly become avenues for extortion by corrupt officials, security operatives and touts who reportedly extorted truck drivers of huge sums of money.
Princess Audu had urged truck drivers to report any demand for illegal payments on the roads.
Among the locations cleared during the exercise were illegal checkpoints around Liverpool Bridge, the second gate at the Tin Can Island Container Terminal, TICT, approaches to terminal facilities and other extortion points at PTML and Ports & Cargo terminals.
Illegal checkpoints at NAGAFF Junction, ETISALAT and Fidelity roundabouts were also dismantled, while collection of illegal fees from truck drivers was banned.
The PEBEC DG also warned against indiscriminate parking of trucks on port access roads, directing drivers and fleet owners to comply with the new directives or face sanctions.
However, investigations revealed that illegal checkpoints had resurfaced along the corridor shortly after the operation.
Apparently responding to the development, the Lagos CP ordered the deployment of a special task force, in collaboration with Area B Command officers, to ensure total compliance with the directive removing all illegal checkpoints and restoring sanity along the Apapa axis.
During the enforcement exercise, five officers were reportedly arrested and detained at the Area B Command for further investigation and disciplinary action.
A truck driver identified simply as Tochukwu told Vanguard: “On May 26, the Area B Command and the special task force removed all checkpoints on Apapa Wharf Road under the NPA.
“The arrested policemen were allegedly aiding NPA officials in extorting truck drivers.”
“The task force carried out the operation from Ijora to Eleganza Roundabout around 3 p.m. last week.
“Following the CP’s directive, the Area B Division and Apapa Area Command dismantled all the illegal checkpoints set up by the NPA and other agencies.”
Also commenting on the development, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Transportation and Logistics, Comrade Hassan Adekoya, lamented what he described as deep-rooted corruption along the Apapa access roads.
According to him, the practice had become entrenched and would continue unless drastic and holistic measures were taken to tackle it head-on.
Police sources said the Commissioner’s directive was aimed at restoring sanity and professionalism to policing operations along the corridor.
“The CP ordered all Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers within the corridor to dismantle every checkpoint immediately.
“He also warned that any officer caught violating the directive would be sanctioned accordingly,” a police source disclosed.
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