Apapa wrestles to keep trucks under control

Just 72 hours after the implementation of the electronic call up system that took trucks off Apapa roads and bridges, some disquieting scenes were noticed Tuesday as some as some double parked trucks were seen on Ijora Bridge and Wharf Road.

The outbound lane is free, same with inbound until the goat market. The high bridge, however, is blocked. At the moment, the best way for motorists going to Apapa is the inbound lane, that is, one-way.

Many of the trucks being directed down the bridge leading to the Lilypond trucks transit terminal are parked on the bridge which negates an earlier warning by the Lagos State government and authorities of Nigeria Ports Authorities (NPA) that no truck should be seen unless on call up.

“What has happened in the last four days of the e-call up implementation is that each new day is worse than the one before it. Sunday and Monday were quite okay, but today, I had my fears that this system may not be sustainable,” a motorist who lives in Okota and works in Apapa, told BusinessDay.

Obviously, today (Tuesday) is worse than yesterday (Monday) which is worrisome. An added worry which was expressed by an Apapa resident was that these trucks have continued to park on the bridge.

“But must they be parked on the bridge? Why can’t they park under the bridge? It still amazes me the way we carry on with turning our bridges into car/trailer parks; it’s a disaster waiting to happen,” the resident said.

He wondered if the party was over so soon, noting that this has always been the issue when a new innovation like the e-call up is introduced. “Slowly they (the trucks) creep in,” he observed.

According to him, what is happening is a question of planning and organisation, advising that the new task team needed to control the number of trucks coming into the parks.

In a swift reaction, a member of the Lagos task team on Apapa gridlock assured that the situation would be addressed quickly. “What you are seeing right now are the tankers going into Forte Oil using the same lane the trailers are currently using into Lilypond,” he explained.

“I assure you that we are already working on another path for the trailers, which will, hopefully, be ready by this weekend; just like all new endeavours, there will be some teething problems, especially the drivers who are mostly unlettered,” he added.

The task team member explained further that most of the truck drivers were booked into other parks, yet they kept coming to Lilypond, pointing out that turning them back was the cause of yesterday’s backlogs.

“It will be free within the hour; please, bear with us,” he pleaded.

The implementation of the electronic call-up system which was introduced to control trucks movement in and out of Apapa by the NPA and Lagos State government recorded a huge success. Sanity was restored within the port corridor and this was commended especially by Apapa residents.

To them and businesses in the port city, it was the dawn of a new era. But it seems to them now that their joy has a slender skin. Can Lagos and NPA prove them wrong? Time will tell.