Trucks besiege Apapa despite FG’s promise to end ‘siege’

As at yesterday evening, articulated vehicles have completely taken over the Oshodi-Apapa expressway, causing traffic gridlock, a move commuters described as a sign that the trucks were not going to get off the roads anytime soon, despite public outcry, media reports and lately, the president’s directive.

The Guardian had on several occasions, called the attention of the federal and state governments to the plight of residents and commuters plying the road, to no avail.

On Thursday, President Buhari issued a 72-hour ultimatum to truck drivers parked on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway, to vacate, noting that this would help in clearing the gridlock and help in restoring law and order to Apapa and its environs.

Truck drivers going into the Apapa port have turned every road and street to parking spaces, causing unbearable traffic and raising security concerns. The vacation order came barely 96 hours after the Lagos State Governor-elect, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, promised to decongest the road within the first two months of his administration.

It will be recaledl that on July 21, 2018, Vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, directed the commencement of a 72-hour joint operation to restore order around Apapa and its environs, following bad roads caused by the activities of the truck drivers. Not too long ago, a disappear-and-reappear act was performed when the trucks on Eko Bridge suddenly vanished without any trace on February 9, 2019 when President Buhari came to Lagos to campaign for a re-election, a move that infuriated Lagosians and Nigerians because it proved that it was possible to rid the state of the trailers.