By Eguono Odjegba

MARITIME industry stakeholders are singing discordant tunes over the way and manner the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, and the Presidential Task Force on De-congestion of Apapa Road have responded to the prevailing port access road crisis, in respect of forceful evacuation of trucks from the Lagos ports access roads, in addition to the hiccups associated with trucks call-up system.

File: Gridlock as tankers shut down Apapa road.

While a section of port users have faulted NPA’s approach to the trucks call-up system time frame as hasty and unrealistic, others have also condemned the framework of the presidential committee on trucks removal from Lagos ports as lacking necessary solution action plans and full of noisy politicking.

Concerned stakeholders who spoke with our reporter said the facilities to achieve truck call-up system are presently non-existent, even as the lampooned various presidential intervention task forces including the present one for failure to properly advise the presidency on the reality on ground, and to undertake a sincere and purposeful temporary remedial action pending when everything required to drive the truck call-up system has been put in place.

Speaking on the developments, President of All Ports Unified Freight Forwarding Practitioners Association, APUFFPA, Prince Mike Okorie said rather than dissipate efforts chasing trucks out of the ports access roads to start roaming all over Lagos metropolis and spreading social vices and criminalities, the committee should recommend to the federal government the need to open up spaces in some locations around Lagos to which the trucks should be taken, while long term parking arrangements and eventual trucks call-up system is developed.

Also read: Oshodi – Apapa Exp Way: Truck drivers attribute demurrage, extortion to gridlock

His words, “I believe that NPA knows what to do to solve all these issues, all these task forces are a mere waste of time. I believe that NPA knows that asking these trucks to go away from the ports access roads is not a practical option, the drivers know their work lies at the ports. Let the presidential committee stop playing politics of relevance and tell the federal government to clear up the large expanse of land along Lagos-Sagamu expressway, take these trucks there and start the call-up trial test. The truth is that there are no ready parking facilities; the correct thing to do is to begin their construction while making use of the temporary truck parks like the ones I have said can be built in satellite locations around Lagos, along Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Lagos-Sagamu expressway, Lekki-Epe road and other identified unused facilities in Lagos.

“It does not portray government well when it harasses truck drivers who start going around all over the township, spreading vices and crimes. Government actions should be based on a purposeful approach, and the truth is that there are no facilities for the trucks and that makes these trucks call-up system a lie.”

On his part, Chairman of Association of Maritime Transport Owners, AMATO, Chief Femi Ogungbemile, said NPA and the presidential committee are doing well, but he disagreed with the timing and tasked them to adopt more pragmatic and temporary solution less strenuous on transporters.

“We have seen many presidential committees and task forces come and go, while the problems remain. I think the problem is still there because the correct things have not been done. That is while my appeal to NPA and the present presidential committee is for them to sit down together with stakeholders and brainstorm on an agreeable solution and time.

“I have said it many times that our greatest problem is rushing in and rushing out. We are more concerned about what we get. NPA cannot tell the nation it has enough truck parking terminals to take 2000 trucks and trailers out of the port roads in Lagos. ‘‘There are over 5000 of them in Lagos on a daily basis. There should be less eye service and more true service by telling the government the truth. If it is possible to put the ports here on hold for one or two months while work is carried out on the roads and trucks parking facilities, it is to our national interest. There are other ports in the country to take up the challenge for two months.

“Empty containerized trucks which are part of the problems are there because our leaders do not have the political will to insist that terminal operators should provide truck bays. Things are not working out because we are not having the right people in place.”

Executive Vice Chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Decongestion of Apapa Traffic, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, last week said the team had been able to ‘completely’ take away trailers and trucks from Ijora-Olopa to Point road as well as successfully remove stationary trailers and containers from that point up to the Marine Bridge, noting that was how far they have been able to go.

While lamenting his committee’s limited time frame, Opeifa declared, “Our assignment is predicated upon the fact that truck ‘Park A’ will be available, trailer park B, C, D and E would have been cleared by Lagos State government for us but they are still not fully available. It is a work in progress because it takes a lot of stakeholders’ engagement for us to clean it. We don’t want to displace anybody from his normal means of livelihood.

“’We have achieved one hundred percent compliance on what we are expected to deliver in terms of extortions, in terms of truck removal from the bridge, in terms of deploying an effective traffic management plan, in terms of giving an efficient traffic management direction, in terms of deploying the appropriate call up system.”