Lagos state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday said his administration is working closely with President Muhammadu Buhari to develop the Lekki and Badagary deep sea ports as panacea to the intractable gridlock being experienced at the Tin Can Island port.
Sanwo- Olu speaking after meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the proposed massive upgrade of Lekki and Badagry seaports in Lagos State remains the most credible alternative to decongesting the Apapa port.
He said he was at the Villa to brief the President on the few initiatives he was planning to do in Lagos and to get presidential buy-in and his concurrence.
“Apapa port itself has grown beyond where it is now. That is why Lagos State is speaking with investors to see how we can push either the Lekki Port or the Badagary Port as the long term alternative to the Apapa Port because that would be the long term solution in terms of our growth of development as a nation”.
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“I can’t get it any better. His words were very encouraging, his acceptance with the initiatives that I brought onboard were very resounding. So I am very encouraged and he just gives me the opportunity to go and do more”.
The State government recently commenced the reconstruction of the Apapa Tin Can Island to Mike 2 road, a situation the Governor said is “not at the stage in which we can feel the full impact of it. That’s on one side. The movement of the tanker drivers has also started.
“There is a lily pond terminal that has been created with NPA and other terminal operators which I imagined have started doing what we call the call-up system.
“What I understand by the call up is that it’s a system that need to be a bid more electronically driven. I think it’s currently run manually now but if we can get a software that can enhance it and enforce it, the call-up system can become something that can hold the tanker drivers accountable. If you’re not call on to come unto the port you are not meant to come.”
“There is a lily pond terminal that has been created with NPA and other terminal operators which I imagined have started doing what we call the call-up system. What I understand by the call up is that it’s a system that need to be a bid more electronically driven.
“I think it’s currently run manually now but if we can get a software that can enhance it and enforce it, the call-up system can become something that can hold the tanker drivers accountable. If you’re not call on to come unto the port you are not meant to come. But beyond that, is to look at the entire value chain – who are the users and who are the operators in that space
He declared that the initiatives are meant to improve the quality of life and business development in Lagos, the Governor said they included security and economic investment opportunities.
“It’s a whole lots of work in progress and we have talked about issues of security. In Lagos in particular, we have to ensure that we keep our whole state safe, secured and it’s also the gateway of the economic development of the country.
“We must continue to encourage the international investors and the private sector that Lagos remains the hub of business and it’s safe.
“So issues around cultism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery are little things that we hear about and we have to nip them in the bud before they become challenges that we cannot deal with.
“I have said to my team in the security committee to come up with a robust plan where we can continue to make our environment safe and secured for our citizens and for investors”, he stated.
On what he is doing concerning the Lagos/Badagary expressway which has been a death trap, the governor said: “I’ve been there twice now and the commitment we got was that the contractors would move into site before the end of this month and I am still relaying that in the month of June, we should be closing our the discussions with the contractor over the weekend early next week.
“We are hoping that barely any unforeseen circumstance, they should be moving in in another two to three weeks time; meaning that the cleanup and the construction of the Badagry expressway return in earnest”.
