The Executive Vice Chairman of the Presidential Task Team on the Restoration of Law and Order on Apapa Port and Access roads Comrade Kayode Opeifa will on Monday morning brief the Chairman of the Team and Vice president Prof Yemi Osinbajo on the efforts so far made on the mandate assigned to ensure free movements around Apapa.
Opeifa who dropped the hint at the weekend, while leading other members of the team on a media tour of Apapa Port and roads, could not however confirm whether the team’s tenure would be extended.
He spoke just as the head of the enforcement gang Mr Hakeem Olusegun Odumosu, disclosed that 120 trucks were impounded during the two weeks exercise.
Odumosu, a Commissioner of Police, said all the impounded trucks have been taken to the LASTMA yard and would in line with its terms of reference, not be released without presidential directive.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had on May 23, issued Presidential Order, mandating truck drivers to vacate all access roads, bridges and ports within 72 hours. He sets up a Task Team with a two-week time frame to sanitize Apapa port and put in place a sustainable policy that would guide traffic management around Apapa port and the adjoining roads.
Opeifa who scored the team high, in spite of the limitations said while the Team had achieved tremendous success at the Western Avenue and all adjoining roads and bridges that entered Apapa port, its success at the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway had been slowed down by failed road, especially between Coconut and TinCan First and Second Gate Bridge and road.
He, however, expressed happiness that the axis would soon begin to heave a sigh of relief as the Hitech Construction Ltd., is ready to carry out palliative work on the failed portion of the road.
He said: “The only challenge before the team right now is controlling the truckers to move to the outbound Tin Can carriageway, in order to enable the contractor palliate the road especially at Coconut, Tin Can road and the adjoining bridges.”
Opeifa disclosed that the Federal government had awarded all the roads within Apapa, including Liverpool, Creek Road, and the Apapa –Oshodi Expressway up to Iyana Oworo, as part of the long term solutions to decongesting the ports.
He said much of the success recorded at decongesting Apapa port was as a result of the availability of the Lillypond Truck Terminal by the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), adding that “right now, no trucks are permitted to approach the port directly, but must first go to the Lillypond Terminal from where they are thereafter called up to approach Apapa.
“To facilitate this, the NPA has approved 54 private parks around the port area where the trucks are permitted to park for a minimum fee of not more than N1000 daily. This even the operators agreed were more cheaper than staying on the road where they are extorted by street urchins and other faceless operatives. From these parking lots, the truckers are called to approach the port,” Opeifa stated.
He said the reason why trucks may still be seen on the roads is because of the low handling capacity of the ports, adding that while the Apapa Wharf could handle only 300 empty container returns per day, while TinCan can handle 1,000 empty container returns every day.
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