The federal government said it would deploy 200 security officers to clear the gridlock at the Tin Can and Apapa ports.
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed this at a meeting with Maritime Stakeholders and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) in Lagos, according to a statement by his Media Assistant, Taiye Elebiyo-Edeni.
He said the security officers would also ensure trucks do not park on the roads.
According to the statement, the union had threatened to go on strike if the government failed to address the gridlock on the route.
The minister, however, noted that there should be a steering committee headed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Magdalene Ajani, to sit monthly until the challenges are overcome.
Other members of the committee would be from the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Shippers Council, MWUN, Road Safety, and Lagos State government.
He directed the committee to write to the Inspector General of Police for more officers for the assignment.
“The issue of traffic on these routes is because in Nigeria we don’t discipline people. People do whatever they like even when it’s wrong because there is no consequence for our actions. We need security officers to enforce compliance on trucks blocking the road.
“100 men at Tin Can and Apapa to be stationed there every day because Nigerians don’t obey until there are consequences for actions. NPA, Shippers Council must have a level of funding to resolve these challenges.
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“We need to talk to shippers and traders, especially those around Warri, to see how they can be using Warri port so that Lagos ports will be decongested. We can get security to follow the cargoes to that area, so that traders from Aba, Onitsha that are ready to use that port can go there,” he was quoted as saying.
Speaking on behalf of the union at the meeting, the Deputy Secretary-General of MWUN, Abudu Eroje, was quoted as saying that the union wanted to go on strike because of the hardship workers face every day trying to go to work because of the gridlock.
He said that the union was now part of the implementation committee which took a decision that letters will be sent out to all relevant stakeholders giving them an ultimatum when all trucks must leave the road and go back to their various parks.
Mr. Eroje said that a manual call-up system would commence before the electronic system until all access roads to Tin Can from Mile 2 were cleared.
