The Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, is currently mustering stakeholders operating along the Lekki Deep Seaport, Lagos corridor to evolve measures to curb the worsening gridlock on the port access road.
The Management of the NPA in conjunction with the stakeholders recently resolved that the practice whereby trucks are parked indiscriminately on the road by truck drivers would no longer be tolerated.
The Lekki Port corridor serves as a major artery to Nigeria’s growing maritime and industrial activities, as many of the country’s industrial complexes and Free Trade Zones FTZ, are located in the area.
The duo agreed that the indiscriminate parking of trucks on the driveway must be checked as part of measures to eliminate the gridlock that has plagued the access roads leading to the multi- billion- dollar Lekki Deep Sea Port and other industrial complexes including the Dangote Refinery, among several others located in the area.
This is one of the resolutions reached at a strategic stakeholders’ meeting convened by the management of NPA and presided over by the Lekki Port Manager, Mr. Emmanuel Anda, with representatives of Lagos State Government, Lekki Port, Dangote Refinery, truck owners’ associations, operators of the Electronic Truck Call-Up System ETO, and other critical stakeholders in attendance.
It was gathered that participants at the meeting unanimously agreed that stationary trucks and tankers would no longer be allowed to occupy any part of the roads within the Lekki Port corridor. They insist that all truck vehicles and tankers must utilise designated holding bays and waiting areas until they are called into the port or any of the industrial facilities.
The stakeholders who earlier inspected the Lekki Port access corridor, also witnessed the extent of the gridlock and logistic challenges associated with it firsthand, as they returned to the event with a firm resolve that the situation could no longer be tolerated and must have to stop immediately.
A representative from My-callup- the electronic Truck Call up system for the Lekki Port corridor, Mr. Timi Koteolu, while speaking at the stakeholders’ parley, noted that one of the major causes of the traffic congestion has been the movement of trucks that lift petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, which operate outside the electronic call-up system.
“Most of the truck drivers operating with Dangote Refinery’s Authority to Collect ATC permits have been identified among those parking indiscriminately along the roads while waiting for access into the refinery.
Trucks that lift refined products from the Dangote Refinery have not been enlisted on the Lekki Port’s Call up system, and this is the primary cause of the bottleneck”, Koteolu revealed.
Koteolu, who responded to a comment by a representative from the Dangote Refinery, Mr Jaiyeola Moshood, said the ATC issued to tankers serve as their access to the refinery complex, hence they park on the access road.
The ETO management noted that trucks without an active call-up permit should not have any business approaching the port corridor and should rather remain at their designated waiting areas until the refinery terminals is ready to take them in.
Meanwhile, representatives of Association of Maritime Truck Owners AMATO, and the National Association of Road Transport Owners NARTO, who spoke at the event, pledged to support the initiative by sensitising their members and proposed strict enforcement of traffic rules to restore order on the Lakki Port corridor.
Coordinator of the Dangote Refinery branch of NUPENG, Mr. Ademola Adeshina, who also at the event, noted that there was urgent need to clear the Port approach, while pledging to ensure his members complied with the Standard Operating Procedure SOP, as it relates to traffic management.
Adesina lauded the NPA management and the stakeholders for their resolve to eliminate the worsening gridlock and urged all parties to adopt a hands-on approach in tackling the challenge.
The NUPENG-boss specifically urged Dangote Refinery tanker drivers to fully integrate into the ETO platform, noting that such collaboration would significantly improve traffic management and eliminate the indiscriminate presence of trucks on the access roads.
The Lekki Port Manager, who spoke earlier, assured stakeholders that discussions would continue with Dangote Refinery’s management to ensure greater coordination of truck movements, stressing that vehicles issued with ATCs should only proceed when cleared to do so.
A highpoint of the event was the stakeholders’ expression of optimism that if these collective measures were strictly adhered to by all the parties in the logistic chain, the gridlock would become a thing of the past and therefore restore free flow of cargo in and out of the port and other industrial complexes operating in the area, boost operational efficiency, and improve safety along the corridor.
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