- They must obey Lagos State governor’s order
Will Lagosians ever be spared the agony of the gridlock on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway? This question becomes pertinent given the latest order by the Lagos State Government to the state police command and the state task force team to rid the highway of the petrol tankers that have made plying the axis a nightmare. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode who renewed the order asked both organisations to restore sanity to the road and ensure smooth flow of traffic that has been hampered by the tanker drivers who park indiscriminately on the road in their bid to lift fuel at the Apapa ports.
The latest order by Governor Ambode was the second since his assumption of office on May 29. About three weeks ago, he gave a similar order during a visit to the Apapa corridor. His predecessor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, did the same thing time and again before leaving office. Unfortunately, just as in the Ambode case, the tanker drivers disappeared from the road only for a while. This time around, they took advantage of the change of the commissioner of police in the state, which made the task force to retreat in the enforcement of traffic law because it was not sure of how favourably disposed the new police commissioner would be to the matter.
It is good that Governor Ambode had reminded the security personnel of the need to enforce the state traffic law and ensure that traffic moves unhindered on the road within 48 hours. No sane government would allow the magnitude of impunity perpetrated by the petrol tanker drivers in its domain, particularly on a busy artery as the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. We must hasten to add, however, that this time, the compliance must endure. Never again should the tanker drivers return to the road to constitute nightmares to other road users.
No doubt, the tanker drivers are rendering an invaluable service to the nation; but so are many others whose businesses they cripple whenever they park indiscriminately on the busy highway. And, since this is now becoming a recurring decimal, the governments, particularly the Federal Government, has to think out of the box. In the first place, it is a misnomer that Nigeria, a major crude oil producer, has to be importing the bulk of its petroleum products, necessitating the establishment of many tank farms in the Apapa ports axis, hence the huge number of tankers in the area.
The Federal Government makes a lot of money from the Apapa ports. The problem is the lack of transparency in its management, especially as Nigerians hardly know how much comes in and how much of it is remitted into the Federation Account, if any. With the new dispensation, it should be possible to ensure that the right things are done with the revenue coming into the ports coffers. It won’t be out of place to suggest that part of the revenue realised from the ports be made to solve the perennial problems on the highway.
Moreover, we need to relieve the Apapa ports of the burden of carrying all the load. In this regard, we note the collaboration among the Federal Government, the state government and a private investor to develop the Lekki Deep Seaport in Akodo, Ibeju-Lekki Local Council of the state. We are glad too that the Lagos State Government is planning another port for Badagry. The railway from the ports should also be resuscitated to link the Iddo Terminus for onward ferrying of products from the ports to other parts of the country.
Ultimately however, the Federal Government has to do something about the country’s refineries. Importation of petroleum products for us is not only shameful and embarrassing as a major crude oil producer, it is also unsustainable because of the subsidy element that has remained a source of corruption over the years.
‘Ultimately however, the Federal Government has to do something about the country’s refineries. Importation of petroleum products for us is not only shameful and embarrassing as a major crude oil producer, it is also unsustainable because of the subsidy element that has remained a source of corruption over the years’
