Major Marketers Laud Navy on Easing of Apapa Gridlock

Major Marketers, Tanker Drivers and Transport Owners have extolled the efforts of the Western Navy Command through the joint Security Task Force led by the FOC Western Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral SAG Abbah and the Commander of NNS Beecroft Commodore Okon Eyo for their timely intervention in clearing the Apapa gridlock menace.

The gridlock had hitherto proved impossible to clear and was becoming a festering sore in the operations of the Apapa Ports and businesses in Apapa as well as daily commuting on the Apapa corridor.

From the Petroleum Drivers Tankers Association (PTDA), Nigerian Association of Road Truck Owners (NARTO), Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), to the major Oil marketers, the clearance of the gridlock has opened up the Apapa area for more business operations to go on and for them to further deliver their services to Nigerians in a timely manner.

They all agreed that the efforts of the government through the security agencies deserve applause and should be encouraged, noting that the intervention not only helps the larger society but also helps improve the turn-around time of the downstream sector by reducing the turning around time for loading products from the depots and delivery of the products to retail outlets.

A visit to the area shows that the grid lock has been completely cleared on the highways leading into A papa, leaving Western Avenue ont heSu rule re and Orile I gan mu axis as the problem spot.

Aside this, the Navy has maintained an effective cover over the Apapa area and has forged a fluid partnership with major marketers and associated unions in the downstream in ensuring a smooth passage of traffic with positive impact on businesses and commute rs along the Apapa corridor.

At a stakeholder workshop organised by the Major Marketers with the Navy, a tanker driver called Mallam Ibrahimat, said the success was due to the efforts of the Navy working with major marketers and that what was done was to harness the resources at their disposal together with the support of Lagos state government.

To him ,“if there was no cooperation among the agencies, they won’t be able to achieve it. But what they saw was that the Navy wasthefront-liner, coordinating other agencies efforts.”

He said since the Navy took over the clearing operations, there has been the deployment of an effective logistic strategy which involves the use of call card signed by the Navy commander for authentication of Trucks due for loading and passage into the Apapa area.

Ibrahim said although there were teething problems associated to the call card system, due largely to the newness of its use by tanker drivers, he concluded that the system was working and that it has reduced the turnaround time for loading and delivery of products.

Another tanker driver, Ahmed Issa, who was at a park in the Marine beach side of Apapa said the absence of traffic was due to the concerted efforts of all the marketers and tanker drivers as they all obeyed the command of the Naval officers who were strict with what they wanted to achieve.