Bayo Akomolafe 
After dislodging miscreants on the port roads, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has claimed that haulage costs at the Lagos ports have dropped by 60 per cent.
He noted the malignant traffic gridlock on the port access road held port operations hostage for several years.
Oyetola was sharing the battle, which government fought to free the port access road and dislodge those he described as “entrenched interests” with the Study Group 4, Senior Executive Course 47 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), who paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
He explained that the Apapa gridlock, which crippled port operations for over 20 years, was not accidental but perpetuated by entrenched interests that government engaged in a fierce battle before the menace could be resolved.
Findings revealed that about 3,000 trucks accessing the port charged between N800,000 and N1.2 million instead of N150,000 or N250,000 to freight cargoes out of the seaports in Lagos, translating to an average of N3.6 billion daily due to the challenges of extortion, insecurity and gridlock.
It gathered that there were 20 extortion points along the Mile 2- Tin Can Island Port access road alone. Oyetola explained: “The gridlock wasn’t accidental; it was engineered and sustained by entrenched interests.
Dismantling it required bold action, inter-ministerial collaboration, and the political will to confront corruption and inefficiency.
”We worked closely with the Federal Ministry of Works, Lagos State Government, and other stakeholders to rehabilitate port access roads, clear illegal structures and introduce a digital truck scheduling system.
Today, haulage costs have dropped by 60 per cent, access is seamless, and port operations are thriving again.Apapa is no longer a symbol of chaos, but of reform and resilience.”
Meanwhile, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has directed that all trucks accessing the Tin-Can Island Port must have their number plates firmly riveted to their bodies.
The directive was issued to by Truck Transit Parks (TTP), its technical partners managing the ETO electronic call-up platform and warned that any truck failing to comply will be denied entry and may face strict penalties.
It emphasised that the current stage marks the start of a phased enforcement, with full implementation set for mid-month.
Recall that before the Tincan gridlock was cleared the Port Manager, Lagos Port Complex and Chairman Eto Project Implementation Committee, Mr Charles Okaga explained that there were 20 extortion points along the Mile 2- Tin Can Island Port access road where illegal monies are collected from truck drivers before entering into the port.
According to him, the activities of non-state actors collecting these illegal monies from truck drivers had caused the drivers to divert to using the Ijora axis to gain access to Tin Can Island Port.
Also, as part of measures to eliminate gridlock, NPA warned all truck owners to desist from parking truck on outbound section of Port access roads after exiting Apapa Port.
It was revealed that some trucks were sabotaging the authority’s effort of ensuring free flow of traffic, seamless evacuation of cargoes to and from the port, leading to congestion on the road.
The authority said that parking trucks on outbound section of Creek road and Wharf road in Apapa was not only causing congestion and delay in admittance of trucks in the port but also obstructing the movement of other roads users, adding that parking on outbound lane of the port access roads had been the practice over the years.
