A firm, Ships & Ports Communication Company has written letters to the 468 federal legislators requesting for parliamentary action to end the perennial traffic gridlock in Apapa area of Lagos.
The firm's worries bothers on loss of productive man-hours and the adverse effects on port operation.
In a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday, the Chief Executive Officer, Ships & Ports, Mr. Bolaji Akinola, stated the move became necessary in order to save the ports from further haemorrhage.
He stated he took the action in order to bring the plight of Apapa residents and port operators to the knowledge of the legislators, adding that letters were also sent to the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on the matter.
As stated by Akinola, “the economy of this great country is haemorrhaging not just because of the declining value of the naira and the crash in the international prices of crude oil, but also due to the persistent traffic congestion that has practically brought Nigeria’s major port community of Apapa to its knees.
“About 80 per cent of Nigeria’s trade by volume (and 70 per cent by value) is carried by sea. Seventy-five per cent of Nigeria’s seaborne trade is conducted through Apapa, and to allow this important community to be crippled by the menacing gridlock will mean creating more harm to the nation’s economy.
“We want the lawmakers to have full knowledge of the situation and be galvanised into action.”
He identified upoor and dilapidated road infrastructure, lack of parking lots for trucks and the proliferation of tank farms in Apapa as factors that had combined to create the gridlock, causing trucks to be on the road for upwards of seven days to load or drop their cargo.
Akinola stated the solution to the gridlock could be found in the lawmakers’ urgent intervention