The Federal Government has flagged off the second phase of ‘Operation Free the Port Corridor’, aimed at removing all illegal checkpoints and shanties along the Tin-Can port corridor, in Lagos.
Speaking in Lagos on Friday, Magdalene Ajani, permanent secretary, federal ministry of transportation, who flagged off the operations at an event organised by the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), said the second phase will ensure that every clear checkpoint and shanty along Apapa, Tin-Can, Coconut, Berger Yard, Mile 2, Orile, and Ijora-Sifax is removed.
Represented by Adams Ofie, a deputy director in the ministry, Ajani said the operation would be undertaken by the Presidential Standing Task Team (PSTT) and would eliminate traffic gridlock and corrupt practices that hinder the ease of doing business in Nigerian port.
“The first phase was flagged off on April 14 by the minister of transportation to ensure that issues of corruption and gridlock on the port corridor are a thing of the past. The Federal Government had stated that it will change the narrative and corruption perception index by the Transparency International about Nigeria. It is important to reiterate the implementation barrier with various operations. The Nigeria Shippers Council is aware of the various challenges of the task team due to inadequate logistics and operational need for an effective implementation of the PSST,” said Ajani.
She, however, solicited funding support from government agencies under the transport ministry to enable the task team deliver on its assignment.
“The purpose of flagging off is to ensure compliance and solicit support for funding from agencies, managing directors, Nigerian Shippers’ Council and NIMASA synergising with various security agents and the ministry to enforce compliance,” she added.
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Earlier in his opening remarks, Emmanuel Jime, executive secretary of the NSC, said the flag-off was the third exercise in the series of activities of the Port Standing Task Team after ensuring the joint boarding of vessels, joint examination of cargo and the clearing of the Apapa-Ijora road.
According to him, the Tin-Can road is a 15.6km stretch of road littered with shanties and trucks parked indiscriminately, thereby causing untold hardships to other commuters and creating opportunity for extortions and other forms of corrupt practices by both state and non-state actors.
“We all knew the enormity of the task. However, at the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, buoyed by the cooperation of other committed stakeholders, we were resolute and dogged in our resolve in contributing to changing the narrative. Even in the face of logistics and operational challenges, the task team has achieved its objectives,” he said.
Jime further said that the success recorded was not without dire consequences, including stern resistance, intimidation, threat to lives, and physical assault of operatives, gadgets and vehicles.
Citing an example, he said a case in point was the attack on some personnel of the task team, including the national coordinator where they were assaulted and harassed.
Moses Fadipe, the national coordinator of PSTT, said the team has taken a bold step to rid the ports’ corridors of illegal checkpoints and other forms of corrupt practices, which has yielded tremendous success. He said the success was most evident in the sanity established in the movement of traffic in the outbound route of Apapa Port gate to Ijora.
Fadipe, who noted that the team has been solely funded by the Shippers’ Council, called for the support of other sister agencies under the federal transport ministry.
