‘It is easier to move at this time, transport at night’ – Governor Fashola

The Lagos State Governo,r Babatunde Fashola, assured that the traffic gridlock being experienced on the Apapa Oshody Expressway would ease in the next one week. He also appealed to tanker drivers to transport their product at night, because “It is easier to move at this time.
Fashola gave the assurance while inspecting some failed portions of the ever busy expressway and the ongoing expansion works on the 10 lane Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

He was accompanied by the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure, Engineer Ganiyu Johnson and the South West Public Relations Officer of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Mr. Tayo Aboyeji among others.

The governor said, “They (PTD officials) have assured me that in the next one week, things will change for the better and we are accepting that from them. It is easier for the state to accept their commitment but if we do not see the change we expect, we know what to do on behalf of the residents. One business cannot disturb the other. This is only a temporary measure, the Federal Government should also visit Apapa, to see the pains residents and owners of business are going through daily.

“There are many questions we must ask ourselves, why is it that this is the only place where fuel is being distributed and it is distributed at so much pain? Where is the money made from the ports annually? I remember that we were told that these ports made N1.4 trillion in six months. Why is the money not reinvested in the port? About 3, 000 trucks load from the ports. I hope that the owners of the oil companies will also leave their desk and visit this place as a group to see how they make profit and the cost of that on the citizens. Once they see this, there will also be more improvement.”

The governor however, appealed to the tanker drivers to transport their product at night, saying “It is easier to move at this time. This is another way to transport fuel without inflicting pains on the residents. Doing this, it will suit both residents and the fuel operators. When you do this, resident will have opportunity to do business. It is not about enforcement but about doing business with compassion.”Fashola lamented that many businesses had shut down and thousands of people laid-off by their employers because they could no longer operate effectively. On the ongoing expansion of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, the governor said traders had converted the road to market, regretting that “such act is another problem impeding the ongoing constriction works.

 

 

 

Vanguard