- Hours after President Muhammadu Buhari, his presidential campaign entourage and chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) visited Lagos, petroleum tankers and container-carrying trucks have again been unleashed on Lagosians.
Days to the APC rally which held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, the trucks which usually line up the long stretch of Ikorodu road, Eko bridge, Ijora Olopa, Apapa-Iganmu road, Eric road, Iganmu bridge and part of Lagos-Badagry expressway, had all disappeared.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Lagos State government, had barred the trucks from entering Lagos between Friday and Saturday, to guarantee free movement for Buhari and his entourage.
Checks by BusinessDay on Sunday, however, showed
that the trucks are returning to the roads, to Alaka inward Eko bridge.
The trucks are taking over both lanes inward Eko bridge leading to heavy traffic build-up in the axis by Sunday afternoon, forcing the residents to ask why the sudden appearance of the tanker and containers if they could be kept away from the road ahead of the visit by the president.
Checks further showed that most of the drivers of the vehicles were made to part with as much as N20,000 to security agencies in order to have a quicker access to the ports.
Chairman, Apapa G.R.A Residents Association, Ayo Shola-Vaugha, a retired brigadier general, who reacted, described the latest development as sad and deliberate.
He also accused the task force put in place to regulate how the vehicles access the ports and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) of complicity in the whole issue.
Shola-Vaughan vowed that they will take legal action against the NPA and the owners of Shipping companies after the expiration of 21 day ultimatum on the matter.
Joshua Bassey
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