The Senate Tuesday decried the non-adherence of the electronic call-up system for admitting trucks into the Lagos Seaports introduced by the Nigerian Ports Authority to control the movement of trucks in and out of the terminal.
This followed a motion sponsored by Senator Oluremi Tinubu, co-sponsored by Senator Solomon Adeola, and Adetokunbo Abiru
Presenting her submission on the floor of the red chambers, Senator Tinubu lamented that clearing agents and truck owners along the port’s access roads at the Tincan Island Port complex have accused officials of the NPA, security agents, and the police personnel who were deployed to manage traffic in the area of sabotaging the smooth operation of the newly introduced e-call up the system by colluding with community boys, touts, and miscreants who disregard official e-call up tickets to extort truckers.
She noted that the outcome has continued to pose a security threat to the lives of innocent Nigerians as hoodlums exploit the situation to dispose of motorists and passers-by of their valuables.
Senator Tinubu further said that due to the deplorable state of the roads and the number of trucks and containers on the road, there have been several cases of containers falling on smaller vehicles, killing innocent citizens while goods worth millions of Naira are also destroyed or stolen in the accidents.
The Lagos lawmaker said that the gridlock has led to the diversion of Nigerian bound cargoes to neighbouring country’s seaports.
The Senate in its resolution urged the private terminal operators to explore water transport as an option in the movement of containers and mandated its Committee on Marine Transport to investigate the implementation of the e-call up system and allegations of extortion by port officials and report back to the Senate on the way forward.
The upper chamber urged the executive arm of the government to collaborate with the Lagos State government and other critical stakeholders to evacuate all petrol tankers and heavy-duty vehicles along the Apapa ports access road.
The Senate also urged the Federal Government to collaborate with the Lagos State government to ensure that tank farms are relocated to other areas.
The lawmakers called on the Federal Ministry of Works to commence the reconstruction and repair all access roads to seaports; Apapa Creek road, Apapa Oshodi Expressway, and Tincan Island.
The red champer, however, directed its Committee on Marine Transport, Works, and Petroleum (Downstream) to meet the NPA, concessionaires, Nigeria Union of Petroleum Engineers, and all other stakeholders to ensure resolution of pending conflicts and ensure synergy among stakeholders.