The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bad roads

  • Okota residents appeal to Ambode over bad roads

    Okota residents in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government of Lagos State have sent a Save our Soul (SOS) to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode over bad roads.

    They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday that whenever it rained, the roads became impassable and their houses and shops flooded because of damaged drains.

    A resident, Mr. Chibuzor Nwakanma, condemned the deplorable state of the roads and implored the government to assist them.

    He said the roads were beginning to create a gully, adding that the rainy season had exposed their poor condition.

    “The situation is very bad; the government should find a solution to it because residents and traders can no longer bear the pains of driving through the terrible roads.

    “There is no week I don’t take my car to the mechanic due to bad roads,” Nwakanma said.

    Mrs. Glory Ali, a civil servant, said anytime it rained, few commercial buses plied the roads, resulting in increase in transport fares.

    “Since the roads are not passable whenever it rains, due to their bad conditions, it is difficult to get a bus and when one sees any, there is always an increase in the fare.

    “As a civil servant, I ought to be in office on or before 8am, but it is difficult for me to do even if I leave home early,” she said.

    A trader, Malam Yusuf Abubakar, said the roads’ condition was worrisome, adding that it had affected sales.

    “The government should help us in Okota. Everywhere is just too bad; our shops are flooded due to the damaged drainage. This has affected sales,” he added.

    When NAN visited the area, most of the roads were in bad condition and houses and shops were flooded.

  • Workers: bad roads threaten $10b investments

    Workers: bad roads threaten $10b investments

    How can Apapa roads be restored? Hand them over to the  Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), say Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), terminal operators, residents truck drivers and others.

    They said the bridges leading to the ports from Western Avenue, were under threat because of the huge number of trucks parked on them daily.

    Over $10 billion investments at the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, they said, are threatened by bad roads.

    The roads, according to them, needed urgent attention to protect the bridges, save lives and reduce revenue losses at the ports.

    MWUN President General Comrade Adewale Adeyanju lamented that a large number of dockwor-kers were facing redundancy because vessels no longer  found the ports attractive for business.

    He said if the situation continued, the union would withdraw its services from the ports.

    “We have given an ultimatum, but it is not about ultimatum anymore, it is about total show down. If you go inside the port now, you can hardly see two vessels there, at ENL where we normally have up to six vessels, it is only one that is there, so there is diversion of vessels to other countries close to us and this is affecting our members, it is equally affecting the revenue drive of the terminal operators and the NPA

    “When the ships are not coming, the management may think otherwise, and to stop this, we have decided to come out and cry to the whole world that enough is enough

    “If the rain should start any moment from now, you will not see any vessel again in the port,” he warned.

    A senior Customs officer who pleaded not to be named, said it was difficult to evacuate cargoes from the ports, adding that this is reflecting on the revenue of many agencies like NPA.

    A senior official of a terminal, said: “Your paper reported last week that terminal operators owed the Nigerian Ports Authority several billions of naira, but you have forgotten that our own investments, which are over $10 billion, are in danger because of the perennial gridlock on Apapa roads.

    “Part of the agreement we had with the Federal Government before the ports were concessioned to us was that the government would fix the infrastructure and we shall invest in the port by bringing in modern equipment, which we have done but the government is yet to fulfil its own part and that is affecting our business and our returns to the government.

    “As sensitive and people-oriented government, there is need for President Buhari and the Federal Executive Council to direct the Minister of Works, Power and Housing Mr Babatunde  Fashola to hand over the roads  to NPA and end cargo divert to ports of neighbouring countries because of the gridlock on the road,” he said.

    He said many operators had abandoned Apapa, Mile 2 and Ijora roads, going to the ports via water.

    “But that has increased the vehicular traffic on the Third Mainland Bridge because we would first drive to CMS before taking boats to Apapa.

    “The implication of that to the economy of Lagos State is high because many truck drivers have abandoned the Oshodi/Apapa Express road and are now using the Western Avenue and the bridges along this corridor are suffering and if we allow one of them to collapse, the cost of re-fixing it would be huge for the government and higher than the cost of fixing the roads currently’’.

    Investigation showed that, the gridlock on the road has become endemic because of pot holes.

    Adeyanju said the state of the roads was affecting cargo dwell time and ports revenue.

    The National Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr Kayode Farinto, said ships’ waiting and turnaround time and cargo dwelling time were affected by the deplorable roads.

    “Fashola must be directed to hand over the roads to NPA. By the time that is done, our groanings and the hardship we are facing on these roads would be over. This is a government of the people and we have no doubt that it will listen to our hopes and aspirations. At the moment, NPA is handicapped because the roads fall within the purview of the Federal Ministry of Works, but I am sure that the government is a listening government.”

     

  • Maritime workers protest bad roads

    Maritime workers protest bad roads

    Workers in the maritime sector have called for the immediate rehabilitation of roads leading to Apapa Port to save businesses from total collapse.

    The workers, under the auspices of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), dressed in white shirts and trousers, staged a protest at the first gate leading to the port, with placards to express their displeasure in solidarity with their outgoing President, Mr Anthony Nted.

    Some of the placards read: “Our leaders are accountable and transparent’’. “We pass vote of confidence on our leaders” and “No fracas, no friction, we are one union”.

    The workers advised the Federal Government to encourage terminal operators to repair the roads leading into the ports and provide tools for their jobs.

    A dockworker, Mr Samuel Golden, said lack of access to the port and non-functional equipment were  major hindrances to them.

    He said: “One of the workers was killed in 2016 on a commercial motorcycle when the driver of a trailer was trying to make a turn. If the road was good, the accident would not have happened.

    “We need tools to do our jobs efficiently, the beam is not working well  and we need replacement of some of the equipment.”

    Another worker, Mr Femi Adekoya, said workers at the port lacked sufficient protective gadgets to perform their duty.

    “We do our jobs without kits such as protective shoes and others that will help to guard a worker in case accident occurs,”  Adekoya lamented.

    However, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) Chairman Mr Edward Okpoto, who spoke on Nted’s administration, praised him for ensuring that industrial crisis was no longer prevalent at the port.

    Okpoto said the outgoing president encouraged workers through training at the local and international levels.

    Also, Mr Adeleke Sanni, the NPA branch president, who read a solidarity and commendation letter for Nted, said the labour leader had passion for workers’ right.

    Sanni said the outgoing president maintained peace among the workers and trained 6,000, out of which 180 travelled to other parts of the country to enhance their skills.

    He said in spite of malicious accusations by some people in the sector, Nted brought credibility to dock workers and ensured that they had a good condition of service.

    Receiving the commendation letter in his office, Nted urged the workers to remain peaceful to boost productivity at the port.

    He said the forthcoming MWUN election would be free and fair as nobody had the right to impose any leader on the people.

  • Nigeria loses $1b yearly to bad roads, says Dangote

    Nigeria loses $1b yearly to bad roads, says Dangote

    Nigeria is losing about $1 billion yearly to the poor condition of roads, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said at the weekend.

    Dangote, who spoke during the handing over of a 25 kilometer concrete road at Itori, Ibeshe, Ogun State constructed in collaboration with AG Construction Company Limited, urged  government to review existing methods  of road constructing in the country.

    He pointed out that construction of concrete roads was a more viable alternative to asphalt laid roads, adding that concrete roads were about 20 per cent cheaper than conventional asphalt roads and that they were easier to maintain and lmore durable..

    He stressed that cement which constitutes the raw materials for the construction of concrete roads was locally available compared to bitumen which is imported, especially now that there is greater need for foreign exchange control.

    He said: “Roads play an important role in the social and economic development of any nation. I am happy today to announce that in another CSR initiative, we are reconstructing the Ijora Apapa Wharf Road in Lagos State, using cement concrete. I am sure those of you that are familiar with the road will appreciate just how critical it is to the evacuation of goods from Apapa Port.

    “The assistance of government is required to enable us to complete the engineering design and preliminary works for the early take off of the construction of this road. Within the next 18 months, we expect to complete the project and bring succor to Lagosians.”

    Dangote said the concrete road inaugurated in Ogun State, was just one out of the several corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that has been put in place for the firm’s host communities.

    “I therefore encourage you all to join us as we strive to find ‘home-made’ solutions to the various challenges that we face as a nation,” he stated.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing,  Babatunde Fashola, in his remarks at the event, stressed government’s to alleviating the sufferings of Nigerians   byfast-tracking infrastructural development.

    He said government would soon commence an aggressive road construction and maintenance programme across the country.

    His words: “I want to use this medium to assure Nigerians that the present challenges being experienced, especially in the power and road sectors of the economy will soon be a thing of the past. We are working round the clock to deliver lasting solutions to the challenges in these sectors.”

    Fashola praised the unwavering commitment of Dangote towards the industrialisation of the country, saying it is historic in the sense that this is the first time a road of this size will be constructed in Nigeria using cement concrete.

    He said countries that have achieved self-sufficiency in cement production have found it expedient to adopt the construction of concrete roads because they are cheaper, more durable and environmental friendly. I believe Nigeria should not be an exception; we must move with the times, Fashola stated.

    He said government would continue to encourage indigenous firms to compete with international construction firms to build quality roads at affordable cost in order to consolidate and extend national road networks, saying  that would enable the government to actualise its cardinal objectives of job creation and economic empowerment of Nigerians.

    Ogun State governor,  Senator Ibikunle Amosu, said the road would ease vehicular movement and promote economic activities within the state.

    He said his administration would continue to provide enabling environment for Dangote and other investors to thrive in the state, adding that industrialisation remained the only way to rejuvenate the country’s ailing economy.

  • Bad roads: Delta residents brace for horrid rainy season

    Bad roads: Delta residents brace for horrid rainy season

    The season of rains is here and residents of the twin cities of Warri and Effurun in Delta State are living in fear of what this year’s hold for them. The season is friendly to none in the area; the rich and poor suffer from bad roads, flooding and other agonies that come with it.

    The state governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, sensational declaration last August that only “mad men” construct roads during the rainy season had assured residents of the bad roads and flood prone areas of the cities that 2016 would be there year of relief. But the strand of hope is wearing thinner with every gathering cloud.

    The dry season has come and gone without a hint of any repair being done on the trouble spots in the cities’ roads. It is back to the basics for the people of the area. It has been about a year since Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, an Agbor, Delta North Senatorial District indigene, was inaugurated as the fourth Executive Governor of the state and not much has changed in Effurun/Warri, except that the roads in the financial hub of the state are in more deplorable condition and relief is far from sight.

    Almost all the major roads in the twin cities are badly in need of repairs: the Okere-Ugborikoko, NNPC Housing Complex, Sokoh, Commissioner, Ovie Palace Road, Alegbo, Uti and others are crying for help. Access roads like the Water Odili, Oil Field, Etuwewe and Esisi roads are not faring better; they are pothole ridden and without working drainage system.

    The Okere-Ugborikoko road is next in significant to only the Airport road, which is the main link between Warri and other satellite suburbs in neighbouring Uvwie LGA. The NNPC Housing Complex and Sokoh Estate roads are no less significant; they take traffic to and from Jakpa, Refinery, Niger Cat roads to Airport Road, through which the Okumagba Avenue, Okere road and Ajamogha business districts can be easily accessed.

    Over the past years the two roads have grown in importance as project development and population creep into new enclaves like White House, New Layout, Okuisoko and other fast growing areas. Ironically, as the traffic increases, the road has become more or less like canals because of the ubiquitous potholes, which have grown in size and propensity to break down vehicles and cause pains for drivers.

    Residents of the area had hoped that with the governor’s declaration in 2015, The NNPC Complex and Sokoh Estate roads would receive facelifts. But how wrong they have been!

    Beyond dismantling the controversial BRT lane on the busy Effurun/Warri road, the present administration has failed to take advantage of the dry season that the governor said is most suitable for ‘sane men’ to work. The repair (surface scrapping) of Airport road – which the past administration inexplicably resurfaced – has been on forever and its end is nowhere yet in sight.

    It is against this background that the performance of the governor and his team has become a subject of beer parlour banters and debates.

    “Our governor is one of the best performing governors in the current regime and I think all Deltans need to support his administration”, Ovie Sunday quipped as he and his friends drown bottles of beer at a popular bar around Marine Quarters area of Warri recently.

    If the appraisal was bait, Clark, one of Sunday’s friend snap at it immediately as he retorted: “Are you a fool? How can you say that sort of nonsense here, trying to destroy the mood of everybody here? Why are you talking as if you live in the moon; what part of Warri has received a facelift?”

    “They (government) have been there for how long now, by May they’ll be one year in office and the only ‘dividend of democracy’ Okowa has given the state so far is that endless list of his S.As (Special Advisers); no roads and no social amenities”, Clark went on about his anger against the Dr Ifeanyi Okowa-led administration.

    “His excuse last year for not doing anything about the terrible state of roads here was the rainy season, now the rains are back and not even a shovel has been moved to site and you want me to be clapping for that person?”

    One might be initially tempted to judge Clark harshly and sum him up as one irrational and unduly intense person, especially when you consider how innocent the topic that got him started was. However, those conversant with the appalling situation of roads in the oil city and attendant notorious knotty traffic within and around the Warri metropolis and environs may be kinder.

    The situation is deemed to be well known to everybody, including those in the political class, that Warri roads can be anything but pleasant to whoever has to move on them – even during the dry season. Residents have over the years endured terrible, vehicle-damaging streets, from where they drive to join needless, but endless traffic jams on supposed highways, where countless deep gullies and unattended bad spots have without fail daily wasted man-hours and further batter an already beaten economy.

    The Warri/Effurun/Sapele Road, the NPA Expressway, PTI Road, especially between the Effurun Market to Jakpa Junction axis, Shiaguolo/Jeddo Road, Ubeji Road, Ugbolokposo Road, Okere /Ugborikoko Road, Giwa Amu Road, Enughe Road are just some of the roads that have turned worse than when they were just footpaths.

    The Warri/Effurun/Sapele Road has a special case, which sources a special kind of anger of residents and road users. Among several things that the previous administration, under Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, did to displease the people, the abandoned 4 kilometer Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), valued at N6 billion stood out. It was not that fact that it was abandoned, but because it was ever conceived, started and then abandoned.

    When it was started and contractors started marking out and installing boulders to demarcate and divide an already insufficient space to create a BRT lane, the people were angry. They got angrier when it became obvious that the work would be abandoned, but the last administration continued to insist that it was its A-List project. Time lapsed out on Uduaghan and stakeholders made it clear to governor Okowa, that they wanted the ‘impediments’ removed from the road so that even if the road would be a headache, deliberately installed nuisances would not be part of their headache. It took the succeeding administration over nine months to remove the barriers.

    Now, as the rains begin to hit the roads (mostly misnomers) again, the words of Governor Okowa is ringing in the ears of residents.

    “I am sure that you are aware that the rains are still on”, he told reporters at the Palace of the Olu of Warri, when he met the late Ogiame Atuwatse II in September, shortly before the monarch transited. “Only mad men construct roads in the rainy season because you will destroy the road rather than repair it.”

    Nevertheless, with the dry season over, residents are back to living in fears of what the season holds for them.

    “In the past at times like this, the government makes some palliative repairs at least to give the feeling that it cared about the people, but there is no motion and certainly no movement.

    “We cannot expect this government of sane men to do anything during the rainy season; so we can only hope that the heavens open up less frequently and dumps fewer gallons of rain this season,” a motorist navigating a section of the terrible Sokoh Estate Road in Effurun, told our reporter.

  • Bad roads: Residents of Delta cities brace for horrid rainy season

    Bad roads: Residents of Delta cities brace for horrid rainy season

    The season of rains is here and residents of the twin cities of Warri and Effurun in Delta state are living in fear of what this year’s hold for them. The season is friendly to none in the area; the rich and poor suffer from bad roads, flooding and other agonies that come with it.

    The state governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, sensational declaration last August that only “mad men” construct roads during the rainy season had assured residents of the bad roads and flood prone areas of the cities that 2016 would be there year of relief. But the strand of hope is wearing thinner with every gathering cloud.

    The dry season has come and gone without a hint of any repair being done on the trouble spots in the cities’ roads. It is back to the basics for the people of the area. It has been about a year since Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, an Agbor, Delta North Senatorial District indigene, was inaugurated as the fourth Executive Governor of the state and not much has changed in Effurun/Warri, except that the roads in the financial hub of the state are in more deplorable condition and relief is far from sight.

    Almost all the major roads in the twin cities are badly in need of repairs: the Okere-Ugborikoko, NNPC Housing Complex, Sokoh, Commissioner, Ovie Palace Road, Alegbo, Uti and others are crying for help. Access roads like the Water Odili, Oil Field, Etuwewe and Esisi roads are not faring better; they are pothole ridden and without working drainage system.

    The Okere-Ugborikoko road is next in significant to only the Airport road, which is the main link between Warri and other satellite suburbs in neighbouring Uvwie LGA. The NNPC Housing Complex and Sokoh Estate roads are no less significant; they take traffic to and from Jakpa, Refinery, Niger Cat roads to Airport Road, through which the Okumagba Avenue, Okere road and Ajamogha business districts can be easily accessed.

    Over the past years the two roads have grown in importance as project development and population creep into new enclaves like White House, New Layout, Okuisoko and other fast growing areas. Ironically, as the traffic increases, the road has become more or less like canals because of the ubiquitous potholes, which have grown in size and propensity to break down vehicles and cause pains for drivers.

    Residents of the area had hoped that with the governor’s declaration in 2015, The NNPC Complex and Sokoh Estate roads would receive facelifts. But how wrong they have been!

    Beyond dismantling the controversial BRT lane on the busy Effurun/Warri road, the present administration has failed to take advantage of the dry season that the governor said is most suitable for ‘sane men’ to work. The repair (surface scrapping) of Airport road – which the past administration inexplicably resurfaced – has been on forever and its end is nowhere yet in sight.

    It is against this background that the performance of the governor and his team has become a subject of beer parlour banters and debates.

    “Our governor is one of the best performing governors in the current regime and I think all Deltans need to support his administration”, Ovie Sunday quipped as he and his friends drown bottles of beer at a popular bar around Marine Quarters area of Warri recently.

    If the appraisal was bait, Clark, one of Sunday’s friend snap at it immediately as he retorted: “Are you a fool? How can you say that sort of nonsense here, trying to destroy the mood of everybody here? Why are you talking as if you live in the moon; what part of Warri has received a facelift?”

    “They (government) have been there for how long now, by May they’ll be one year in office and the only ‘dividend of democracy’ Okowa has given the state so far is that endless list of his S.As (Special Advisers); no roads and no social amenities”, Clark went on about his anger against the Dr Ifeanyi Okowa-led administration.

    “His excuse last year for not doing anything about the terrible state of roads here was the rainy season, now the rains are back and not even a shovel has been moved to site and you want me to be clapping for that person?”

    One might be initially tempted to judge Clark harshly and sum him up as one irrational and unduly intense person, especially when you consider how innocent the topic that got him started was. However, those conversant with the appalling situation of roads in the oil city and attendant notorious knotty traffic within and around the Warri metropolis and environs may be kinder.

    The situation is deemed to be well known to everybody, including those in the political class, that Warri roads can be anything but pleasant to whoever has to move on them – even during the dry season. Residents have over the years endured terrible, vehicle-damaging streets, from where they drive to join needless, but endless traffic jams on supposed highways, where countless deep gullies and unattended bad spots have without fail daily wasted man-hours and further batter an already beaten economy.

    The Warri/Effurun/Sapele Road, the NPA Expressway, PTI Road, especially between the Effurun Market to Jakpa Junction axis, Shiaguolo/Jeddo Road, Ubeji Road, Ugbolokposo Road, Okere /Ugborikoko Road, Giwa Amu Road, Enughe Road are just some of the roads that have turned worse than when they were just footpaths.

    The Warri/Effurun/Sapele Road has a special case, which sources a special kind of anger of residents and road users. Among several things that the previous administration, under Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, did to displease the people, the abandoned 4 kilometer Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), valued at N6 billion stood out. It was not that fact that it was abandoned, but because it was ever conceived, started and then abandoned.

    When it was started and contractors started marking out and installing boulders to demarcate and divide an already insufficient space to create a BRT lane, the people were angry. They got angrier when it became obvious that the work would be abandoned, but the last administration continued to insist that it was its A-List project. Time lapsed out on Uduaghan and stakeholders made it clear to governor Okowa, that they wanted the ‘impediments’ removed from the road so that even if the road would be a headache, deliberately installed nuisances would not be part of their headache. It took the succeeding administration over nine months to remove the barriers.

    Now, as the rains begin to hit the roads (mostly misnomers) again, the words of Governor Okowa is ringing in the ears of residents.

    “I am sure that you are aware that the rains are still on”, he told reporters at the Palace of the Olu of Warri, when he met the late Ogiame Atuwatse II in September, shortly before the monarch transited. “Only mad men construct roads in the rainy season because you will destroy the road rather than repair it.”

    Nevertheless, with the dry season over, residents are back to living in fears of what the season holds for them.

    “In the past at times like this, the government makes some palliative repairs at least to give the feeling that it cared about the people, but there is no motion and certainly no movement.

    “We cannot expect this government of sane men to do anything during the rainy season; so we can only hope that the heavens open up less frequently and dumps fewer gallons of rain this season,” a motorist navigating a section of the terrible Sokoh Estate Road in Effurun, told our reporter.

  • Bad roads: Luxury bus owners seek Fed Govt’s intervention

    The  Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria (ALBON) has bemoaned the deplorable state of highways, saying they contribute to the high rate of accidents in parts of the country.

    At a meeting in Lagos, members of the group expressed deep concern over the worsening condition of the various roads their vehicles ply, appealing to the Federal Government to save the users from the situation.

    In a statement, ALBON Chairman, Sir Dan Okemuo, hailed President Muhammadu Buhari, for the improvement in power supply across the country “and for the restoration of confidence in the business environment in Nigeria”.

    Lamenting the heavy toll of bad roads in terms of endangering the lives of users, maintenance costs, and lost man-hours, the association said the President’s quick remedial measures have become necessary.

    “The numerous challenges faced by its members, including prohibitive costs of maintaining the vehicles frequently damaged on the bad roads, result in many transporters dropping out of the business while new investors are scared of coming in,” Okemuo said.

    They identified specific roads across the country that are in dire need of rehabilitation, including: Lussada to Igbesa Free Trade Zone, Ogun State; Omotosho to Ijebu Ode (Ondo and Ogun states); Agbara to Atan Road (Ogun); Papalanato to Shagamu (Ogun); Ubiaja, Uromi (Edo) leading to Abuja; and Oyigbo road connecting Aba-Port Harcourt.

    Others are Ikot-Ekpene-Itu-Udukpani-Uyo-Calabar; Ikwuano to Ikot-Ekpene road connecting Abia and Akwa Ibom states; Umuapu, Ohaji road connecting Owerri-Port Harcourt; Umagwu in Imo State connecting Ihiala in Anambra State; and Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, among others.

    ALBON said they were concerned that accidents “with consequent high fatalities” will continue if the roads are not fixed.

    Quoting reports, which said the economy loses about N10 billion daily and N1.825 trillion yearly to the terrible conditions of roads nationwide, the association argued that the losses would have been avoided if the roads were in good shape. The money saved, according to them, will have been channelled into other areas of need in the economy.

    The group said: “There is no doubt that a good network of roads is a precondition for economic growth, apart from being a necessity for agricultural and industrial development. Nigeria is reputed to be Africa’s fastest growing economy, but much of its success in economic terms will to a great extent depend on how well it can manage its various transportation problems the population continues to grow.

    “We hereby restate that since much of the nation’s economic growth will be dependent on non-oil sector and services-oriented industry in the coming years, given the falling global oil prices, the Federal Government has to intervene immediately in salvaging the road conditions nationwide, so as to facilitate the desired economic growth.

    “It is lamentable that Nigeria is not only losing money that is needed for the economic growth, but also losing the available human resource required to sustain the expected growth being projected at five percent.”

  • Bad roads threaten $5b ports investments

    • Buhari, N/Assembly urged to visit Lagos ports

    Over $5 billion investments  at the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos are being threatened by bad roads, The Nation has learnt.

    The roads need urgent attention to reduce revenue losses at the ports.

    Terminal operators, Customs officials, port users, truck drivers, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) management, residents and other stakeholders, who spoke with The Nation, said they were sad over the state of the roads. They urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly leaders to visit the ports.

    A senior official of one of the terminals, said: “Your paper reported last week that terminal operators owe the Nigerian Ports Authority several billions of naira but you have forgotten that our own investments which are over $5 billion is in danger because of the perennial gridlock on Apapa roads.

    “Part of the agreement we had with the Federal Government before the ports were concessioned to us was that the government would fix the infrastructure and we shall invest in port by bringing in modern equipment which we have done but the government is yet to its own part and that is affecting our business and out returns to the government.

    “As sensitive and people’s oriented government, there is need for President Buhari and the leadership of the National Assembly to visit the port before this government will celebrate its 100 days in office to access the situation and end cargo divert to ports of neighbouring countries because of the gridlock on the road,” he said.

    He said many operators have abandoned Apapa, Mile 2 and Ijora road, going to the ports via water.

    “But that has increased the vehicular traffic on the Third Mainland Bridge because we would first drive to CMS before taking boats to Apapa.

    “The implication of that to the Federal and state governments, and bridge is high because if many people decide to abandon the Apapa roads and start to do what we are doing,  the bridge will suffer and the cost of  re-fixing it would be huge for the government by the time it starts shaking from foundation because of huge traffic passing through it every day,” the official said.

    Investigation revealed that from Second Rainbow Bus Stop to Tin Can Island Port second gate and from Ijora Bridge to Apapa Port, the gridlock has become endemic because the  pot holes on the roads have increased because of the rains.

    During the visit to the Tin Can Island Port last Friday, NPA’s General Manager, Western Ports, Chief Michael Ajayi, terminal operators, truck drivers and other users lamented the deplorable condition of the access roads to the two ports, urging the Federal Government to fix the roads.

    Assuring them of the government’s commitment to fixing the roads, Ajayi said the state of the road was affecting cargo dwell time  and Customs revenue.

    The former image maker of NPA also said ships’ waiting and turnaround time and cargo dwelling time have been negatively affected because of the deplorable roads.

    “I am sure the administration will fix the road. By the time that is done, your groanings and the hardship you are facing on these roads would be over. This is a new government and we have to wait for it to settle down. At the moment, we are handicapped because the roads fall within the purview of the Federal Ministry of Works but I am sure that the problem would be addressed by the new government.

    Officers, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said Customs may not meet its revenue target this year because of the roads.

    “Even the revenue target from the two ports, I doubt if we would be able to meet it because of the roads,” he added.

    The officer said the situation has also affected berthing ships, making it difficult for importers to take delivery of their goods on time.

    He said the problem was the biggest challenge facing government agencies, adding that with the rainy season, the situation has degenerated.

     

  • ‘Bad roads, others affecting food production’

    ‘Bad roads, others affecting food production’

    Poor rail, road and port networks are impeding food production, the Director Africa Region, Cassava Adding Value to Africa, Dr Kola Adebayo has said.

    He said modernising infrastructure would boost agricultural production. Transportation infrastructure, he said, is an obstacle to agricultural business.

    The sector, he said, faces severe problems in moving food products from point and ports to processing or consumer selling points.

    He said lack of transport facilities leads to food input delivery delays for the food processing sector.

    According to him, the lack of trucking and refrigeration capacity also causes problems with the delivery of produce and that the transportation infrastructure are poorly managed.

    As a result of the poor quality of internal transportation systems and its inability to handle large volumes, Adebayo said, produce movement is very slow.

    The quality of the roads, he added, is poor, and are incapable of handling heavy truck traffic associated with agric produce.

    According to him, predictable logistics are important to improved food production, adding delays and unpredictability generally add to production cost.

    Delays, he said, were related to the performance of road, rail and port, adding that the lack of intermodal-connectivity and variable transit times cause delays and raise costs. These hamper the ability of firms to compete.

    He said improved spending on transportation infrastructure will have direct impact on the performance of the food sector.

    Much of the future progress of the sector, he noted, on transportation as the costs that are uncompetitive, making production costs too high.

    The food and farm sector, he noted, recognised the importance of improving access to market, adding that substantial investment in transportation infrastructure is important to agriculture’s continued prosperity.

    He said projects to get produce to more markets faster would enhance economic competitiveness in the future and help the sector create more job.