APAPA GRIDLOCK: Dangote, BUA Trucks Have Been Ordered to Leave Apapa Roads—AMARTO

By ZION Olalekan

There are indications that the Federal Government may have issued a fresh order to all truck owners, especially Dangote and BUA trucks to vacate roads and bridges leading to Apapa within two weeks.

Chairman of Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMARTO) Chief Remix Ogungbemi in a chat with Nigeriamaritime360.com said the fresh order was handed down by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Committee (PEBEC) at a meeting in Lagos last week.

This is even as investigations carried by our correspondent revealed that ninety percent of trucks queuing up on bridges from National Stadium Surulere, Alaska bride, Ijora Bridge on Funso Williams avenue are owned by Dangote and BUA sugar.

Ogungbemi assured that there is respite on the way for Apapa port users as the truckers have now commenced sensitization on the need for all truckers to return to their garages and vacate port access roads.

He said “I am very optimistic that within the next two weeks, something positive will happen from the presidency because we were in a meeting with PEBEC on day before yesterday at Protea Hotel, Ikeja, the meeting was well attended by stakeholders.

“One of the respite is that we have agreed with them as part of the resolution that they would pass to the presidency that all trucks, including Dangote and BUA must go back to their garages so that proper call up system can be put in place, a system that human appearance would be minimized”, he said.

Speaking on the recent threat by the truckers to withdraw their services from the port, Ogungbemi said the truckers were prevailed upon to suspend the strike action for now.

He assured that sensitization and consultations are still ongoing on the strike action.

Speaking, he said “We only suspended the strike action, buy consultation and sensitization is still ongoing, it cannot be over until it is over, we are still very much on it, we are trying to remove the hindrances that are there, we are being careful, and we don’t want hoodlums to hijack the process”.