By Lukman Olabiyi
Stakeholders and transporters operating at the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), Apapa, Lagos have attributed lackadaisical attitude of the agency’s officials and extortion by security personnel as cause of gridlock in the area.
Expressing their grievances to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who visited the area yesterday, some stakeholders like freight forwarders and transporters accused NPA, Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) officials and other security personnel saddled with responsibility of easy way of doing business of extortion.
Addressing the affected stakeholders, Sanwo-Olu pledged to take the matter to the door step of appropriate authorities for them to take drastic measures on the issue raised. He pleaded with all various stakeholders to give him evidence that could be used to nail the so-called cabal extorting them.
Sanwo-Olu said government is ready to make people culpable on the as scapegoat.
“This is not the first time, certainly not the second and, in fact, this is about the third or the fourth time in my government that we are trying to see how we will bring better solution to Apapa gridlock. You’re are aware that since last year the presidential task force had been working. Now, there is a process that is starting in which the state government needs to take over that task force.
“One of the reasons for this trip is to start that process, to see things for myself.
“The state government is to set up a seamless operation to have a team of LASTMA about 400 to 500, dedicated to Apappa gridlock and have a team of policemen from Area B dedicated to the same gridlock. All of the time we have come, we knew that we are having road construction but you can see now that inside Apapa, there is significant progress in this area particularly on the road construction site a lot of roads has been done.”