Steve Agbota
Truck drivers along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway have asked President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet to visit the TinCan Island port access roads to assess the situation of the environment themselves
Their stance followed the inability of the Presidential Task force set up by the President Buhari to clear the traffic logjam on the axis even after the expiration of the 72 hours givennby the President . According to the drivers the situation on TinCan Island access road, is getting worst ever than before.
The truck drivers who spoke with Daily Sun yesterday, along Coconut junction and Berger Cement said that the 72 hours order given by Buhari is a joke. They said nobody can even evacuate all the trucks within three months, let alone 72 hours.
According to them, Mr. President and his team cannot sit back in Abuja and give orders and expect such to take effect when he has not even seen the situation on the roads himself.
They added: “Let Mr. President come down to Apapa and see things for himself if he truly serious about the economy of the nation. He should come and see the condition of the roads because seeing is believing. His team may present the reports of the roads to him or show him pictures and even watch the reports on television but it cannot be like when he comes around and see things for himself.
“72 hours to take out motors off the roads is not enough and it won’t work until the roads are properly fixed and trailer parks are built. We are not going to fight with the Task force team. We are responsible people. We have family too. We are not against the President’s Order but let him do what he supposed to do.”
One of the trailers driver who spoke with Daily Sun, Jimoh Lawan, said he was not aware of the 72 hours Presidential Order given by Buhari, stressing it is not possible for trucks to evacuate the TinCan road within 72 hours.
He bemoaned: “Where do they want our motors to park. No motor can enter terminal without offloading the container. They must offload the container. The holdup inside the port is something else. I have been on the road for the past three weeks now and I have not seen my family because of the gridlock. It is the government that is causing the gridlock and they know what they are doing.”
He lamented that the uniform men are still extorting the truck driver who are still paying heavily before they are allowe to access the port.
He said: “I collected N90,000 from my boss to offload his container. Between Mile 2 to Coconut where I parked my truck now, I have spent N80,000 and I am left with just N10,000. And I have not even reach my destination yet. From Mile 2 to Coconut junction is N70,000. Under bridge of Coconut, Police will collect N1000, before you climb the bridge, they will collect N2,000 even getting to another point, you will still pay Police until you get to your destination.”