The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Mallam Habib Abdullahi has said that the provision of adequate rail lines connecting the ports with major cities in Nigeria remains a major panacea to the perennial problems of gridlock in Apapa area of Lagos State.
Mallam Abdullahi made this assertion while speaking at a stakeholders’ forum with the Senate Committee on Marine Transport held at the Eko Hotels and Suites Victoria Island, Lagos on Monday.
He said the Nigerian Ports Authority was the most affected organization in the Industry and therefore, it was very eager to see that permanent solution was proferred to the problem.
The Managing Director recalled that the rail lines used to convey cargoes from the ports to other parts of the country were no longer functioning, adding that the resuscitation of those services would further reduce the hardship being faced by commuters and other stakeholders.
According to him, transportation of petroleum products by rail from the ports to the North, particularly Kano, which he witnessed as a youth no longer exist and therefore called on the relevant Authorities to rise up to this challenge.
While pledging the readiness of the Authority to complement the efforts of other agencies whose responsibilities it was to provide the needed facilities, he suggested that petroleum products could be piped from the ports to other destinations if the pipelines were also made right.
Earlier, the Chairman of the committee and former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Yerima Ahmed Sani said the committee had embarked on the exercise as a result of the resolutions passed by the Senate expressing concern about the gridlock and the committee would not leave any stone unturned in ensuring that the problem of gridlock in Apapa was solved.
Having gone on inspection tour of the 400 capacity truck bay opposite Tin Can Island second gate, the Chairman added that the sum of N1.5bn which the government was yet to pay the contractor was said to be the cause of the delay in the completion of the project.
He said that the appropriate agency had been contacted to bring forward the matter for settlement.
Senator Sani called on all stakeholders to come up with suggestions on how best to combat the menace, pointing out that whatever affect the efficiency of the port operations affect the nation’s economy.
Highlights of the meeting were presentations by various stakeholders which included the Nigerian maritime Administration and Safety Agency, [NIMASA] Nigerian Ports Authority [NPA], the Nigerian Shippers’ Council,[NSC], Nigerian Navy, The Police, Federal Ministry of Works, the Association of Maritime Trucks Owners[AMATO]amongst others.
In his comment, the Acting Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Baba Haruna Jauro among other opinions, said the problem was so enormous to the extent that workers of the organization sometimes do not go back home after the day’s job.
Among dignitaries present at the occasion were representative of the Inspector General of Police, Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, Chairman Association of Maritime Truck Owners, Chief Remi Ogungbemi and the Commandant Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), AIG Chris Olakpe (Rtd.).
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