The Lagos State Government (LASG) says it will keep working with the appropriate parties to find a solution to the Apapa Port traffic jam issue.
This information was provided by Mr Sola Giwa, the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Transportation, at an interactive meeting with pertinent parties, including representatives of the Nigerian Ports Authority, on Friday in Lagos.
According to Giwa, the goal of the discussion was to find a long-term solution to the gridlock at Apapa Port.
The state government, he claimed, was still working tirelessly to find solutions to other problems in order to ensure that drivers could travel without any problems, despite the success that had been recorded in managing traffic around Apapa with the introduction of the "Eto" system for petroleum tankers.
According to the special adviser, the government is working to create a procedure that will be viewed as equitable and advantageous to everyone.
“When the road is free, motorists will move freely without traffic and tankers’ turnover will be high.
”Traffic causes health, security and other social problems,” he said.
He said that the Sanwo-Olu-led administration was discussing the involvement of the private sector in providing space for tankers to park temporarily while awaiting individual call-up for loading.
Earlier, Mr Kilanko Solomon, representing the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), commended Giwa for working round the clock to enable the free flow of traffic around Apapa and other parts of the state.
He said that NUPENG was ready to cooperate with the state government in providing lasting solutions to the perennial traffic around the entire Apapa Port area.
Other stakeholders at the meeting include officials of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Petroleum Tanker Drivers, Lagos Zonal Command, Ardova Plc, Conoil and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority.
Officials at the meeting set up a committee with the task of accommodating other stakeholders into the ‘call-up’ system introduced to encourage orderliness in parking among tankers.
The committee will also provide holistic solutions to the entire perennial traffic problem around Apapa.
(NAN)