Five days into the implementation of the electronic call-up system to control trucks movement in Apapa, the Lagos state government is beating its chest on the level of success attained, assuring that it will sustain the enforcement of the system.
Though the call up system which was introduced on Saturday, February 27, has been able to restore relative sanity in Apapa and environs as the trucks are largely off the major entry routes to Apapa, residents of the port city say they have their concerns.
“We are still apprehensive despite the relative sanity we have seen in our environment. People who were benefiting from the chaos that we used to have are not happy and so they will go back to the drawing board and find a way to scuttle the new system,” Ayo Vaughan, chairman of Apapa GRA residents association said in a telephone interview.#
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“I am just coming back to Apapa from Ikoyi and it took me less than 20 minutes to do that. But I could see some trailers lining up on the bridge. We have no problem with that if only the trailers are moving and there is a lane left for other road users, especially the residents,” he added.
Vaughan tasked the Lagos State government and authorities of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to ensure that the system is not hijacked by people who profit from chaos, stressing, “the bottom line is control; let there be effective control of the movement of the trucks.”
On his part, Yinka Adewale, a resident of Jakande Housing Estate, Mile-2, Amuwo-Odofin, noted that there has been a bit of sanity in his area since Saturday. “This is how the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway used to look like many years ago. This new order must be sustained in the interest of the public,” he said.
However, Oluwatoyin Fayinka, Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Transportation, has a ready response to the residents’ concerns as he vowed that the government must ensure the new system was sustained.
Fayinka who is also the chairman of the Lagos State Special Traffic Management Enforcement Team on Apapa, noted,though, that there was still room for improvement.
“Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has directed us to come and access the situation after the commencement of the Call-up system. Though there is a lot of improvement, there are still some grey areas to be cleaned up for improvement. We will not relent in sustaining this current order in Apapa,” the special adviser who was on inspection of Apapa, assured.
To further assure Apapa residents and other stakeholders of government’s determination to sustain the new order, Hakeem Odumosu, the Lagos Commissioner of Police, warned police officers deployed to enforce the call up system against corrupt practices and adherence to rules of engagement, saying that anyone caught in the act of indiscipline would be severely punished.
Driving through Bode Thomas in Surulere to Costain onto Eko Bridge; then from Carter Bridge through Ijora Olopa down to National Stadium, it was discovered that the heavy presence of trucks on these routes were gone, giving motorists easy and pleasurable driving experience.
