UNIFORMED SECURITY OPERATIVES LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN APAPA – NPA BOSS

Uniformed Security Agents like the Police, Navy and Army officers who have served in Apapa for a long time are the major reason the traffic situation in Apapa has remained unsolvable. 

Acording to the Acting Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko, said these security agents have since commercialised the gridlock, while perpetually frustrating Government’s efforts geared at decongesting the traffic in the first place. 

He said he has requested for the transfer of these security agents who have been involved in managing traffic on the port access roads for a long time. He said the request is part of measures meant to tackle corruption in the traffic management in and around Apapa.

Mr Muhamed Bello Koko stated these while addressing newsmen in Lagos recently. He said; “What we have discovered is that there are security officials that have been working within the area we call the red zone, which is the Tin Can, Apapa area, for four, five or six years, and they are still there. We have requested that they should be posted out of that location and a new set of people that will actually and truly work for Nigeria taken there.” 

“So, what we have now done is to look at how many checkpoints should be on the roads. We held a meeting with all the security agencies about three weeks ago and agreed to set up a team and identify how many checkpoints we should have along that corridor. 

“If we identified six checkpoints, for instance, it means that when you wake the next day and you find 16 checkpoints, that means there are 10 illegal checkpoints.

“It was also agreed that it is only right that any of the security formations, be it LASTMA, Police, Army or NPA, that is posting security operatives to the checkpoints, should have the names of officers posted to each checkpoint.

“We believe that if we do that, and there is proof of extortion on a certain date, at a certain location, then we should be able to know the officers involved in it. But the interesting fact in all of this is that things have evolved now. You now have area boys they call ‘ECOMOG boys’, who do the collection for them.

“Let me also state this clearly that we have had the co-operation of the Navy, Army, Police and everyone that is involved in this. They have made efforts to tackle every unwholesome tendency. Many actions were taken by the Navy and I thank them for that.

“I know that the Police also took action to reduce the vices, but sometimes you have errant officers that are off duty and they show up in uniforms with guns and perpetrate destructions. At the NPA, we have dealt with security men indicted over unwholesome tendencies. We are doing a lot and shall soon rid the ports of such vices.”

He said although other ports exist outside Lagos, importers prefer shipping their goods through Apapa and Tin Can Island ports ,both in Lagos, due to the ports’ proximity to their operational bases.

“We understand that about 70 per cent of the cargoes coming into Nigeria come in through Lagos, due to the high concentration of industries in Lagos and Ogun. It is only most likely that importers of raw material that is going to those factories in Lagos or Ogun will actually bring them in through the Lagos ports.”

The NPA boss appealed to all relevant agencies and stakeholders to pool ideas and resources together to solve the Apapa traffic issue once and for all, for the sake of the country. 

Credit: Eons Intelligence