FG to decongest Lagos ports with 200 security agents

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said 200 security agents would be deployed in Apapa and Tin Can ports to clear gridlock and indiscriminate parking on that route.

The disclosure came after the threat by the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUM) to begin strike if the Federal Government fails to address the situation.

Amaechi, during a meeting with the union in Lagos, raised a steering committee, headed by the permanent secretary in the ministry, Magdalene Ajani, to sit monthly till the problems are resolved.

He directed the panel, whose membership includes representatives of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), MWUN, road safety and Lagos State government, to write to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for more officers to execute the assignment.

In a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Taiye Elebiyo, the minister stated that 100 security operatives would each be stationed at the two Lagos seaports, ordering NPA and NSC to fund the project.

He blamed the gridlock on indiscipline, stating: “People do whatever they like even when it’s wrong, knowing fully well that there is no consequence for their action.”

Amaechi continued: “We need to talk to shippers and traders, especially those around Warri, to see how they can be using Warri port to decongest Lagos ports. We can get security (agents) to escort the cargoes so that willing traders from Aba and Onitsha could use there.”

Also speaking, MWUN’s Deputy Secretary General, Abudu Eroje, said their strike warning was borne out of the hardship workers face daily in navigating the hectic traffic.

He acknowledged the union’s conscription into the panel, which has since dispatched letters to relevant stakeholders relating to when the trucks must re-park.

Eroje said manual call-ups would precede the electronic system to allow for clearance of the access roads. The MWUM official pledged that sentisation campaigns would be undertaken before enforcement of the directive.