THE horror caused by the perennial Oshodi-Apapa Expressway gridlock continued yesterday, with the traffic snarl stretching to the Second Rainbow bus stop.
Commuters wailed as the Task Force set up by Governor Babjide Sanwo-Olu to clear the traffic and Ports Police appeared helpless.
More than one week ago, Governor Sanwo-Olu directed the Lagos State Special Committee on Apapa Traffic to clear the gridlock within 24 hours. So far, the directive has not been carried out.
Meanwhile, truckers under the aegis of Council of Maritime Truck Unions and Associations, COMTUA, have commended Vanguard Newspapers over its investigative report detailing extortion points along the Oshodi-Apapa expressway and environs, describing it as true and verifiable.
The truckers spoke as the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Maritime Police Command, AIG Susan Akem-Horsfall, said the gridlock along Coconut to Second Gate of Tin-can Island Port is surmountable
Disclosing that she had been under the weather, she said a task force had been set up to clear the gridlock, which she said “is not supposed to be so” and promised to get back to Vanguard today.
Sanwo-Olu’s aides set to inspect situation in the axis
Contacted, Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr Sola Giwa, told Vanguard, yesterday, that the government was not unaware of the situation in the axis and is ready to wade-in.
According to him, government is set to inspect the chaotic traffic situation along Oshodi-Mile-2 Apapa Expressway, with the view to restore sanity in the axis.
Giwa said the “Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi, myself and other team members are already fine-tuning a working visit to have on-the-spot assessment of the current situation with the aim to resolve the gridlock.
“We are also planning a stakeholders’ meeting to meet with all the port operators on the way forward. It cannot be business as usual.
“We are coming to Mile-2 Apapa Expressway soon to fashion out solutions to address the problems identified at the traffic-prone locations and initiate strategies towards removing congestion immediately.
“We plead with residents and motorists to be patient as government is not sitting on the fence over the issue.”
Earlier, in a bid to ensure the free flow of traffic in the state, the Commissioner for Transportation, Osiyemi, Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Giwa and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Abdulhafiz Toriola visited Costain and Iyana-Oworo axis to study the traffic situation.
Credit: Vanguard News Nigeria