![]() ![]() During the visit, Osinbajo was accompanied by the then Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and the delegation was conducted around Apapa access roads by chopper in a bid to assess the menace. The FG task force was constituted after Buhari sent Osinbajo down to Lagos to appraise the situation of things. There was temporary respite before another effort was birthed under the “Operation Restore Sanity On Lagos Roads,” when Ambode reconstituted the task force to comprise 2, 271 personnel drawn from the Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Nigeria Army, air force, and the navy.īut Ambode did not succeed in putting a lasting solution to the Apapa access roads gridlock, despite the Federal Government also having in place, a special task force to tackle the menace headed by the immediate past Vice President, Prof. ![]() When the outcry became deafening with residents spending several hours journeying between Oshodi and Mile 2, Ambode set up a joint task force of security agencies and stakeholders to remove all articulated vehicles along ports access roads. When Fashola left office as governor and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode came on board, there were efforts to resolve the crisis, especially as it continued to inflict pain on not only businesses in that part of the state, but also on residents and commuters. Fashola complied with the suggestion on November 1, 2013, when he wrote Jonathan. The Namadi wrote back to the governor, advising that the matter be brought to the attention of the then President, Goodluck Jonathan. In the letter, the governor sought to make a presentation on the state of the roads, and what its restoration would take to the National Economic Council. In most cases, there is usually temporary relief after an intervention by the government, only for the chaos to return weeks after.Īs governor, Fashola, on September 17, 2012, forwarded a detailed presentation of what should be done to fix the roads and ease the traffic congestion to the then Vice President, Namadi Sambo. Of note, however, is the fact that from Fashola’s era as governor to date, there have been attempts to end the unending crisis, but they have all defied solutions. Only the Power Ministry was excised from Fashola’s portfolio as he retained the Minister of Works and Housing portfolio during Buhari’s second term.īut eight years after, the Apapa access roads gridlock has not only persisted, but it is also inflicting immense pain on residents and motorists compared to what they suffered before APC came on board. Alas! That has not been the case, as Apapa access roads gridlock remained, even with the appointment of Fashola as the Minister of Works, Housing, and Power, during the first term of President Muhammadu Buhari. Since all these happened when the now opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power, many expected that with the All Progressives Congress (APC), being in power at the federal and Lagos State levels, many residents and businesses along that corridor would heave a sigh of relief. It was learnt that difficulty getting in and out of Apapa by management and staff of the outfit was one of the factors that forced the newspaper to relocate. Less than a decade after BusinessDay set up shop at Apapa, it relocated to Ikoyi. What kind of manager makes such a huge amount of money and puts nothing back there?” And presently, the Federal Government makes billions of naira, if not trillions of naira in terms of revenue from here. ![]() ![]() A lot of economic activities took place here. Former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, made the above statement on July 13, 2014, during a meeting with stakeholders, including fuel tanker drivers, tank farm owners, officials of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) and port managers.įashola at that forum maintained that the Federal Government must rise to the challenge of fixing the ports’ access roads, efficient management of the ports, and explore a better option of fuel distribution in the country to put a stop to the damage being done to the economy and the Lagos environment.Ī few weeks before he made the above statement, Fashola during the opening of BusinessDay Newspaper’s new office at Apapa, on April 1, 2014, said: “Apapa was Nigeria’s first industrial estate. ![]()
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