“The gridlock around Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Mile-2 axis, is worsened by the scarcity of petroleum products”, said Osiyemi

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

Despite various interventions by Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to resolve the perennial gridlock along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, truckers have continued to park indiscriminately along the axis, subjecting other road users to untold hardship.

The situation, for about a week ago, has worsened till yesterday, even as security personnel, both Federal and men of the Lagos State Special Traffic Committee on Apapa traffic, were helpless.

There was a total shutdown of vehicular movement around Second Rainbow to Mile-2-Otto Wharf axis along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, due to activities of truckers, parking indiscriminately on the road in defiance to Sanwo-Olu vacation order.

Traffic situation around the axis which had relatively subsided recently, suddenly retuned on a daily basis, with security personnel, miscreants and union members on cahoots, collecting money from truck drivers.

A motorist, Aliu Ayuba, who spoke to Vanguard, narrated how miscreants and security personnel were extorting truck drivers thereby creating bottleneck to other motorists.

Also, tanker drivers flouted the order against indiscriminate parking on roads as they lined up on the Mile-2 Otto Wharf axis, causing congestion.

Other motorists were held in traffic for hours between Mile-2 to Otto Wharf, a journey which normally takes less than three minutes to drive through.

Men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, the Police, Road Safety Corps ,FRSC, among other security personnel seemed helpless as they were nowhere to be seen while few ones at strategic points were busy collecting money from truck drivers.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, appealed to residents to exercise patience as the state government was unaware of the situation with a view to addressing it.

According to him, “The gridlock around Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Mile-2 axis, is worsened by the scarcity of petroleum products across the country as truckers storm Lagos to lift the products.

“We have ordered them to always create access road for other road users while tankers and containerised trucks make use of the fast line pending loading time.”

Vanguard