Residents of Olodi Apapa and environs have been advised not to take laws into their hands or raze down haulage trucks following the debilitating traffic gridlock along the Apapa-Oshodi expressway connecting the two seaports in Lagos state, Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island port.
Shipping Position Daily had reported exclusively last week that residents of Olodi Apapa and some parts of Ajegunle (also in Apapa) had threatened to take the laws into their hands by burning trucks parked on their streets overnight.
The residents had complained that such trucks have become hindrances and also a source of insecurity.
The residents had complained that such trucks have become hindrances and also a source of insecurity.
But responding to the threat on Monday, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Association Road Transport Owners (NARTO); Barrister Emmanuel Gowon appealed to residents of the affected communities to exercise a little more patience, as plans are on-going to find solution to the problems faced on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway.
Gowon urged the residents to endure the present situation of the traffic gridlock, noting that setting trucks ablaze will also be hazardous to them.
He told Shipping Position Daily that, “it is unfortunate that it has got to this level, but we cannot blame them for complaining and even contemplating an action, because they have endured the pains or problems associated with the gridlock, but we will continue to beg them not to take the laws into their hands".
According to him, residents of the community are not the only people facing the present challenge of chaotic vehicular traffic.
He added that parking of trucks by drivers in these communities was not deliberate, because according to him, the gridlock and the nature of the bad roads made them to look for alternative routes.
The executive secretary further stated that owners of the trucks and the drivers do face some challenges in the hands of security agencies and even robbers; apart from the bad road and traffic gridlocks in Lagos state.
He explained that some of the truck drivers come all the way from the northern part of the country to lift either containers or petroleum products, adding that it takes up to several hours and in some cases, days before the can gain access into the ports and the tank farms respectively.
Also responding, the Chairman, Truck Drivers Unit of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, (MWUN), Patrick Onyegbule, pointed out that burning of haulage trucks will create more problems for the port industry and Apapa in general.
The MWUN top man blamed the government for neglecting the roads that lead to the ports, adding that, in the circumstance, streets connecting the ports are the only alternatives for the drivers to park their vehicles.
However, Onyegbule noted that burning trucks will also affect the occupants of the community because the debris will be difficult for them to remove from their streets.
"If they are threatening to burn down trucks on their streets, then they are taking the laws into their hands, but we still advise them to bear with us, because we are also Nigerians and some of us are living in that same community", he appealed.
Speaking further, he pleaded with the residents to exercise a little patience as regard the present problem faced by the occupants.
He reiterated that the truck owners and drivers are voiceless in the maritime sector and that is why they are vulnerable.http://shippingposition.com.ng/article/apapa-traffic
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