Truck drivers and touts in Oshodi-Apapa have dared Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, saying that he cannot evict them from the area.
The truck drivers and touts made the dare after Sanwo-Olu on Friday conducted an inspection tour of the axis and issued a warning to the truckers, telling them to get off the road or face the repercussions.
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The truck drivers said that they would not leave Oshodi-Apapa because it is their source of livelihood.
“We have been working here for many years and we have nowhere else to go,” said one of the truck driver. “Governor Sanwo-Olu should leave us alone.”
Another driver said that the government should find a solution to the traffic congestion in Oshodi-Apapa instead of evicting them.
“The traffic congestion is not caused by us,” a truck driver said. “It is caused by the bad roads and the lack of infrastructure.”
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Even though there was some partial compliance on Monday, the traffic problem has gotten worse since the police and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), failed to stop touts from returning to the Mile-2 axis.
The truck drivers are daring the Lagos State government to address the issue by addressing the root cause and other contributing causes, noting that truck drivers are also people. The truck drivers claimed to have settled everyone involved in the traffic management along the route.
The Lagos State government has said that it is committed to evicting the truck drivers and touts from Oshodi-Apapa. The government says that the area is congested and that the truck drivers and touts are a nuisance to residents.
However, the truck drivers and touts have said that they will not leave Oshodi-Apapa without a fight. They have threatened to block the roads if the government tries to evict them.
