The Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shipper’s Council (NSC), Mr. Hassan Bello, has outlined measures to avert the dreaded traffic gridlock on Apapa Port access roads, saying that synergy and coordination were important that provision of infrastructure must be prioritised.
Bello said this when he and some directors in the Council paid a working visit to the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in his office in Alausa, to intimate him on multimodal approach to cargo delivery and evacuation, 24-hour Port Operations, Digitalisation of the Port and Traffic Management.
He presented to the Governor and his team the 2015 NSC-commissioned National Freight Information and Transport Hub (NAFITH) report which outlined solutions to the Apapa traffic problem that arose after the concessioning of the ports.
The CEO emphasised the importance of synergy and coordination stressing that provision of infrastructure must be prioritised.
According to him, “if infrastructure is not coordinated or integrated, very little progress will be made.” He commended both the Lagos State and the Federal Government drawing attention to Federal Government’s effort in ensuring that the ports access roads are completed.
Bello however offered the Council’s assistance to train the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) officials for better service delivery in the port axis and informed the Governor about the monthly heads of Maritime agencies meeting.
He said the synergy brought about by this meeting will impact positively on the Maritime sector, leading to economic gains for the nation.
Responding, Governor Sanwo-Olu, who was at the meeting with his Deputy, Dr. Femi Hamzat, the Commissioner of Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Oluseyi Whenu and the Special Assistant -Transportation, Mr. Oluwatoyin Fayinka, assured the team from Shippers’ Council of his cooperation, stating that the goals of his government and that of NSC in terms of restoring sanity to Apapa and making Lagos a smart city were aligned.
