LASG CONVENES STAKEHOLDERS’ PARLEY TO TACKLE RESURGENT TRAFFIC GRIDLOCK IN APAPA, LEKKI-EPE CORRIDORS. (PHOTO). #PRESS RELEASE.

 LASG CONVENES STAKEHOLDERS’ PARLEY TO TACKLE RESURGENT TRAFFIC GRIDLOCK IN APAPA, LEKKI-EPE CORRIDORS

The Lagos State Government today convened a high-level stakeholders’ meeting to examine the recent resurgence of traffic congestion within 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 of the State.

The crucial meeting, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Olawale Musa, provided a strategic platform for stakeholders to dissect the emerging traffic management challenges, identify their underlying causative factors and deliberate on pragmatic, sustainable interventions capable of restoring seamless vehicular movement within the affected corridors.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary affirmed the commitment of the State Government to intensify regulatory and enforcement measures against the indiscriminate parking of articulated trucks along the Lekki-Epe corridor, noting that the practice constitutes a significant impediment to the free flow of traffic and imposes considerable inconvenience on residents, commuters and other road users within the axis.

Musa stressed that the Government would not relent in deploying appropriate enforcement mechanisms to ensure that road infrastructure is not converted into makeshift truck parks, emphasising the necessity for operators to adhere strictly to established traffic regulations and operational protocols.

The stakeholders undertook an extensive appraisal of the factors responsible for the renewed traffic gridlock and identified several interconnected operational and infrastructural challenges requiring urgent attention.

Among the critical issues identified were the unauthorised access of trucks from unregistered or invisible parks into the Port environment; the inability of trucks destined for bonded terminals to exit the Port after 6:00 p.m., thereby precipitating severe congestion within terminal facilities; persistent operational deficiencies associated with the Epe Electronic Call-Up System, whereby trucks duly called up are, in some instances, unable to gain access to the Lekki Deep Sea Port; the imperative to upgrade the Electronic Call-Up System at the Apapa Ports to facilitate seamless and comprehensive automation; and the indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles along strategic traffic corridors, thereby impeding traffic flow and exacerbating congestion across the affected areas.

The meeting observed that the confluence of these challenges has exerted considerable pressure on the available road infrastructure, thereby exacerbating vehicular congestion, impeding logistics operations and adversely affecting residents and businesses within the affected communities.

Consequently, the stakeholders resolved that there will be a need to ensure that the challenges are resolved.

In attendance at the stakeholders’ meeting were the General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, top management officials of the LASTMA, representatives of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners operating within the Lekki and Apapa corridors, representatives of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), as well as representatives of the Shoppers Council and other relevant stakeholders.