Sanwo-Olu Vows To Expose Cabal Behind Apapa Gridlock

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has vowed to publicly mention the names of prominent Nigerians behind the perennial gridlock situation in Apapa.
Sanwo-Olu said electronic Call-Up System launched, last Saturday, in the Apapa seaports was designed to permanently address movement of trailers in and out of the ports,

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has vowed to publicly mention the names of prominent Nigerians behind the perennial gridlock situation in Apapa and environs.

The Oshodi-Apapa Expressway was on total lockdown on Wednesday contrary to expectations on free flow of traffic following commencement of the electronic-Call-Up system for port operations.

It would be recalled that after the commencement of new Call-Up System on Saturday, February, 27, 2021 Lagos State Special Traffic Management Enforcement Team expressed determination to sustain the new order in Apapa and environs as gridlock eased off.

However, Sanwo-Olu, while inaugurating the newly reconfigured Lekki 1 and 2 Abraham Adesanya Roundabouts, Lekki area of the state, said electronic Call-Up System launched, last Saturday, in the Apapa seaports was designed to permanently address movement of trailers in and out of the ports, and bring about traffic improvement along the corridor.

The governor said, “The progress recorded in Apapa is hard-won. It took the State Government more than a year to gather all stakeholders on discussion table to agree on far-reaching approach to permanently address the problem.

“We gave a commitment that we will do everything possible to solve the gridlock problem of Apapa.

“Yes, you can say that it is taking us a year because we need to have a concerted effort we need to work alot from the background, and you remember that there was a first presidential task force that was there, so we needed to unbundled that and take it up.

“But beyond, that we needed to collaborate with alot stakeholders on that corridor.

“NPA being number one stakeholder that is working with us, federal ministry of transportation, all of the maritime operators, the unions that are in that corridor.

“And what we are seeing is the begining of a lasting solution that we have brought to Apapa.

“Our appeal is that we are not out of it completely yet, this is a taste of the pudding they say is in the eating.

“Our citizens has seen that what used to caused two to three hours can indeed take fifteen to twenty minutes for them to commune.

“We have seen that when we work together and we say that the resilient of Lagos, we can solve our problem internally, we have seen that indeed this can happen in our clime and environment.

“Obviously, what we are doing now is that we have take the unscrupulous people who have been benefiting from the gridlock, we have take whatever it is they are earning from them and we know they will want to fight back.

“I am facing the camera now that we will not stop at anything to ensure that anybody that tries to retract and take us back to where we are coming from on the gridlock on Apapa, we will do everything that we have to fight those people.

“We will name and shame them, we will bring out their names, be it a corporate organization, company, police officer, Lagos State officer, be it a union, that will say that solution that we have brought about will not work, they will go and answer to the citizens of Nigeria and Lagos. We will bring them to the public court for them to see that we are about seriousness.

“We cannot condole the recklessness and carelessness that our citizens have gone through.

“I want to use this opportunity to commend the MD of NPA because they have worked with us on this agenda.

“My appeal is to others who have not signed on to this wonderful call-up system that we have embarked upon.

“I want to call most of the big transport logistics companies, I am not calling their names because they have done anything wrong, but I want them to collaborate with us,” Sanwo-Olu said.