After last week’s respite from the usual heavy traffic situation on Oshodi-Apapa expressway, fuel tankers resurfaced at the weekend, blocking the entire access road.
The tankers, which came from various parts of the country are back in their numbers which has resulted in total standstill.This was in spite of a directive from Lagos State House of Assembly to relevant authorities to ensure evacuation of all trucks from the road.
The fear is that the situation will be worse today, if nothing concrete was done by law enforcement agents.
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Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly had sometime last week directed law enforcement agencies to ensure immediate evacuation of all trucks parked along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.
The lawmakers condemned the indiscriminate parking of the tankers conveying petroleum products on highway which they lamented had resulted in traffic gridlock around the Oshodi-Apapa expressway and other link roads.
A member of the assembly, Rotimi Olowo, who moved the motion during plenary, said the call for the removal of the tankers had become necessary in order to safeguard lives and property of the residents of the state.
He enjoined his colleagues to call on the members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas, NUPENG, Workers and the police authority in the state to come to the aid of the residents by ensuring free flow of traffic in the axis.
Also, Lanre Ogunyemi, who noted that the traffic situation in the area calls for serious concern, explained that residents making use of the Oshodi-Apapa expressway often have tales to tell.
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Ogunyemi, recalled that Governor Babatunde Fashola of the state, had visited the area severally to appeal to the tanker drivers to maintain decorum and strict compliance with the state traffic Law.
He however, lamented that the efforts yielded little results to restoring normalcy.
The lawmaker further said that though it was regrettable that the Federal Government had not taken any concrete step to abate the situation, the state government should do everything possible to redeem the situation and come to the aid of residents of the state by curtailing the unnecessary hardship that have affected both individual and the state’s economy, trade and business.
Also contributing, Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Lola Akande, urged stakeholders to intensify enforcement of the state’s existing traffic law to bring the problem under control.
While calling for punishment for recalcitrant offenders Akande stated, “The solution to the problems lies in effective enforcement of the state traffic law. If one offender is prosecuted diligently according to the law, others will comply.” she said.
The house subsequently, in a unanimous decision called on the Commissioner of Police in the state as well as other relevant agencies responsible for traffic management to enforce compliance with state traffic law and other relevant provision that would restore normalcy and orderliness to the route.
