All truck operators at a stakeholders forum, on Friday, unanimously agreed that any truck or petroleum tanker found on Lagos roads, bridges and Apapa ports and access roads by 12 noon, on Saturday, will face the music.
The presidency had insisted that any such vehicles found on the Apapa ports or the access roads or bridges by the afternoon of the deadline would be towed off and forfeited to the Federal Government.
The stakeholders’ meeting, which was held at the NPA multipurpose hall in Apapa, was chaired by the committee chairman and Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, who sued for voluntary compliance to the presidential order.
Already, men of the Nigeria Police and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), have opened all the access roads in Apapa and have started moving the trucks away from the roads.
Read also: Apapa gridlock: LASTMA, FRSC begin ‘Operation Totality Enforcement’
According to the presidency, nothing would be spared in order to strictly enforce the presidential order.
Osinbajo, who was represented by the Vice Chairman of the committee and the Transportation Secretary at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Kayode Opeifa, said all the stakeholders had been meeting since the order on Wednesday, adding that 24 hours is sufficient for all truck operators to get their vehicles off the road.
Subsequently, he got the commitment of all stakeholders, including terminal operators at the two ports, the truckers’ union, manufacturers within the ports, the shippers council, ship owners, among others, to cooperate with security operatives to rid the streets of trucks before the deadline.
Opeifa disclosed, that, 54 private parks belonging to various operators and stakeholders have been identified, where the trucks should be moved into, adding that any operator with accessible parks should enlist same with the NPA by Friday.
He said a short, medium to longterm plan has been drawn up by the committee to tackle headlong Apapa gridlock.
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