The Chairman, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Tincan Island Chapter, Alhaji Isiaka Olalere has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to focus his attention towards the ongoing reconstruction of the Apapa-Oshodi expressway so as to reduce the problems encountered daily by transporters and commuters alike on the road daily.
Olalere who made this call in an interview with Primetime Reporters in Lagos also called on the new Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Ado Bayero to rise up to the demands of his office and find ways of arresting the perennial gridlock that had crippled activities in the nation’s gateway.
He charged both Buhari and Ado Bayero to engage the terminal operators constructively so as to ensure that they improve on their operations at the ports calling for things to be done right for once at the Nigerian ports in line with the international best practices.
According to him,” The change which all Nigerians wanted has come and our expectation from the new government as far as the ports are concerned is to make sure that everything is going on smoothly, that the terminal operators should improve in their operations. The roads that are leading to the ports, we want all to be repaired because if you look at the roads there, you will discover that potholes are everywhere and our trucks are falling down on a daily basis.
“Go to the road opposite my office and you will see one fall down there. These are what we want the new government to do for us and I believe our new President is a man who has studied the problems of Nigeria before coming to power. We wish him well, we believe he is going to give us a new look in this maritime industry”.
On the part of the NPA boss, Olalere stated,” We want him to settle down, we will continue to mount pressure, to appeal to him to let the government know what is happening to us and know the areas they can assist the truck owners. We are expecting that.
“You know every leader will want to prove himself and he has come and we pray that he succeeds in his administration. I think he must have known the problems facing the ports right now and it is left for him now to tackle them one by one and we the truckers will not relent on our own to let him know the areas he should face.
“The issue of bad roads, the issue of traffic on the port roads, all these ones, he is in the office, he may not know what is happening but I believe his predecessor would have told him all the problems he had left behind. So, we pray that he will be able to do much”.
Hi however informed that at the level of the Joint Council of Seaport Truckers (JCOST), they were making arrangements to book an appointment with him so as to let him know their problems.
