Emmanuel Clement
The Lagos State Government has vowed to intensify enforcement against indiscriminate parking of articulated trucks as part of urgent measures to tackle the resurgent traffic gridlock in Apapa and the Lekki-Epe corridor.
The government gave the assurance at a high-level stakeholders’ parley convened on Wednesday to interrogate the renewed traffic congestion in Apapa and its environs, particularly along the critical port-access corridors, as well as the Lekki-Epe corridor and the Lekki Free Trade Zone axis. 
The meeting, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Olawale Musa, provided a strategic platform for stakeholders to dissect emerging traffic management challenges, identify underlying causes and agree on sustainable interventions to restore free flow of traffic.
In his remarks, Musa said the state government would no longer tolerate the conversion of public roads to makeshift truck parks, noting that the practice constitutes a significant impediment to traffic flow and imposes untold hardship on residents, commuters and businesses.
He affirmed that the government will deploy appropriate enforcement mechanisms to ensure strict compliance with traffic regulations and operational protocols by truck operators.
After an extensive appraisal, stakeholders identified several interconnected operational and infrastructural challenges responsible for the renewed congestion.
They include unauthorised access of trucks from unregistered or invisible parks into the Port environment; inability of trucks destined for bonded terminals to exit the Port after 6:00 p.m., thereby causing severe congestion within terminal facilities; persistent operational deficiencies with the Epe Electronic Call-Up System, where duly called-up trucks are unable to gain access to the Lekki Deep Sea Port; the need to upgrade the Electronic Call-Up System at the Apapa Ports for seamless automation; and indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles along strategic corridors.
The meeting observed that the confluence of these challenges has put enormous pressure on available road infrastructure, crippling logistics operations and affecting residents and businesses in the affected communities.
Consequently, stakeholders resolved that the challenges must be addressed holistically and without delay.
Present at the meeting were the General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, top management officials of LASTMA, representatives of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners in the Lekki and Apapa corridors, representatives of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), representatives of the Shoppers Council and other relevant stakeholders.
