FASHOLA INSPECTS TRAFFIC GRIDLOCK POINTS IN MILE 2, APAPA, ASKS TANKER DRIVERS TO EASE TRAFFIC IN APAPA WITHIN ONE-WEEK

As Governor appeals to citizens to bear with Government on road construction, repairs

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Sunday inspected the traffic gridlock points at the Mile 2 under bridge of the Lagos – Badagry Expressway undergoing expansion and Creek Road in Apapa, extracting a commitment from fuel tanker operators to ease traffic on the roads leading to Apapa within one week.

Residents of the two areas have in the last few weeks complained to the Government over the pains of traffic gridlock on the Mile 2 Road caused by a combination of continuous trading on the road and dumping of refuse in the drainage; and the Creek Road and adjoining areas in Apapa rendered made impassible by fuel tankers seeking to load fuel from the tank farms in the area.

Fielding questions from newsmen after the inspection of Creek Road which has been taken over by the fuel tankers, Fashola said government was prepared to wait for a week as promised by the operators to organize the parking of their tankers in a way that traffic could move on the road adding that if they complied voluntarily there would be no need for enforcement.

He told newsmen, “It is when people don’t comply voluntarily that you need enforcement. When people comply voluntarily, there will be no need for enforcement”, adding that Government only intend to make the tanker operators realize the amount of pain they are causing residents and other businesses in the area by their operations.

“What we intend to achieve here is to make the tanker operators here, NUPENG and their affiliates, to understand that their business operation is inflicting pain on residents of Apapa and once they understand that, it is important then to see what kind of empathy that they bring to the business”.

The Governor said the operators had agreed that they would make some changes within one week adding, “It is easier for me when a man says I am willing to change my ways that is hurting people. If we don’t see that change, we know what to do on behalf of taxpayers and on behalf of the people who we represent”.

Expressing the determination of Government to ensure that other businesses survive in Apapa, Fashola said owners of the oil companies that have tank farms in Apapa would visit the area in the course of the week as a group “to see for themselves how they make profit and the cost of that profit on ordinary citizens”.

“I think once they see this I am sure we will begin to see some organization and some empathy. Thankfully I have one of them with me here and he has also seen for himself what the people acting on their behalf are doing here and he has given me his word that in the shortest possible time we will begin to see changes”, the Governor said.

He, however said easing traffic on the road would only constitute a temporary and relieving measure adding that some of the questions that should be asked included what kind of business and economy we want to run as a country and why is fuel being distributed with so much pain.

Fashola asked, “Is it a business and an economy that causes pain? Why is this the only place where fuel is being distributed with so much pain? So what are the NNPCs of this world doing? Where is all the money that is coming out of this port going? At some point it was reported that in half a year this port made N1.4 trillion’ where did the money go, why didn’t we put it back into this business?”

The Governor continued, “Why are we transporting fuel by road, why can’t we do it by rail? Now make no mistake about it. There is a side of their business that we must listen to. We are the ones using the fuel and about 3,000 trucks load here every day and they have to come here. So this is the place we put fuel, why can’t we pump fuel across the country, from Atlas Cove to Mosinmi and all of that. Why are those facilities not working, what has happened to them?”

According to him, “Those are the questions that if we ask ourselves and if we tackle them, will provide a final and long term solution. So it is us really that are the problem and if we sit down and think about it and the agency of the Federal Government, managing the port, managing fuel should also get up and see what is happening”.

“It is not enough to sit down and place adverts to say there is fuel at a pump price. What is the cost of taking that fuel to the people? What is the real purpose, why do I have fuel if it cannot take me to my office? So it is a really hard choice for government and the citizens, but I am sure we can do it”, he said.

Earlier, at the Mile 2 stopover, Fashola said he chose to inspect the places and see things for himself because of the incessant complaints by the citizenry in the last few weeks over the traffic gridlock in the area adding that the main cause of the Mile 2 problem was that the contractors have to work while the people use the road.

“There are so many issues involved, if you go there now you see that our contractors are working and that is consistent with the commitment of government to continue to provide service. Citizens want roads built and upgraded and already this is not a virgin land, it is a fully built-up city”, he explained.

Noting that it would have been easier for Government to shut down the road for say two months while work was going on, Fashola declared, “But it is not possible. So this is part of what causes the inconvenience, we have to build while citizens use the roads”, adding that the major places where the complaints are highest are Mile 2 and the Apapa area.

The Governor appealed to the citizens not to contribute to the problem by trading on the road pointing out that the problem of traffic was equally being caused by those trading on the road and even those making their purchases on the road as well as those who throw refuse into the drains.

According to the Governor, “The main problem that we have seen here is that the drain has been filled with refuse, nylon, pure water sachets, by people around here. The consequence of all this is that on a road that is vulnerable, we have had rain everyday for the last two weeks now, there is no way for the water to go”.

“So we have called the contractor in, they have to evacuate the water to drain into tankers in order to provide some relief. You can see now that it is moving. But no sooner we leave here than trading will start again. They will start dumping refuse, waste, biscuit paper, bread paper, orange pearls into the drain. If we enforce, they say we don’t like the poor but it is the poor that inflict this pain on all of us as it were and everybody suffers”, he said.

He appealed to the people to restrain themselves to do things the proper way adding, “People should stop dumping refuse into the drains; we have said this over and over again. It has been our message every time the rains come. Rain is part of our weather and if we don’t prepare for it we will feel this kind of pain”.

Appealing to the residents to bear with the Government over the inconveniences they suffer as a result of the ongoing construction, Fashola noted, however, that the citizens want government to build roads and government is responding to that demand adding, “During the period of construction there will be some inconvenience; inconvenience because we want to make it better”.

The Governor said a more important aspect of the problem was the fact that Lagos roads are subjected to very unusual tonnage adding, “There is no part of the world that I know where they are moving 3,000 tankers everyday on road. Every day, it is one container falling down or one tanker exploding and these are matters in which the State has no control”.

“We don’t control the Ports, we don’t control fuel importation or discharge; these are Federal Government responsibilities going on through our State. Now trillions of Naira is being made at the Ports, why is the money not being put back. Why is the money not being invested in rehabilitating the existing rail route? There is an existing rail from the Port out of Lagos, why can’t we rehabilitate that and put these containers there?’ he asked.

He said part of the problem that Apapa is facing today is that government is responding to the demands of citizens who want their roads upgraded adding that while the Federal Government contractors are working on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, the same contractor is working for the Lagos State Government inside Apapa on Warehouse Road, Marine Road and Creek Road.

“But in all of that we are carrying by tankers and by trailers. They should go on rail. There is an old rail route there that the Europeans built, it can work. So we can concentrate out energy on it so that these roads will last. They will not last if we build them and subject them to this tonnage”, he said.

On the tendency by some stakeholders to also blame the gridlock often recorded on the Apapa- Oshodi Expressway on the State, Fashola, who exonerated Lagos State from any blame declared, “That road clearly is a Federal road and until they hand it over we cannot take responsibility for it. This is something they budget for. It is not part of our budget”.

“Ikorodu Road used to be a Federal Road until we took it over, it was released by the former President and you can see the work that we are doing there, the work that continues to go on there. So these responsibilities are clearly defined. Apapa-Oshodi Expressway is a Federal Road even the Lagos - Badagry Expressway is a Federal road but we are intervening because our citizens use them”, the Governor said.

According to him, “We can’t intervene in all Federal Government roads because we just don’t have the capacity. The Federal Government takes 52 percent of this country’s revenue, we take one over 36 of 21 percent of the nation’s revenue which the 36 states share. That is how onerous our responsibilities here is”.

Noting that people have the impression that Lagos is rich, , the Governor declared, “Add our meagre allocation from the Federal Government to the internally generated revenues and add the population and divide it. The reality is that we are one of the poorest states”.

“States that have three million, four million and five million people get more than N30 billion a month and some of their people are here. We are happy that they are, they are part of our citizenry, they are part of our residents. But the responsibilities must be honestly and appropriately allocated”, he said.

Appealing to the citizen to bear with Government in the process of giving them service, Fashola, however, noted, “But we work within a limited budget and if you make a budget and you cannot fund them it is as good as not making a budget. So our total, budget for the year is about N496 billion and the Federal Government budget for the year is about N4 trillion”.

Highlight of the inspection was the Governor’s dialogue with the representatives of tanker drivers Association and NUPENG officials, business owners and some residents of Apapa during which the Governor extracted a promise from the tanker operators to leave one lane free on Creek Road to allow traffic to move within the area. The operators gave a commitment to do so within one week.

With the Governor during the inspection were Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and his Environment counterpart, Mr. Tunji Bello, the Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure, Engnr. Ganiyu Johnson among other officials of Government, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando PLC, Mr. Wale Tinubu, the Publisher of Business Day, Mr. Frank Aigbogun, while members of NUPENG, some residents of Apapa and a representative of the tank farm operators met the team at Apapa.

https://www.facebook.com/followlasg?ref=stream&fref=nf

Gridlock that have been there for the past nine months causing untold hardship to commuters. The unending pain of road construction in lagos is getting too much

Nigerians are amongst the nastiest, dirtiest, people on earth.

He certainly took his sweet time getting to this nightmare that has paralyzed the nation for decades. Lagos is working my foot.

Nice write up, but I don't like his excuses, that if he enforces the law, people will say he hates the poor.

I wish he wouldnt look to be loved for compromising, but rather look to be loved for always being upright.

Even guys in the U.S would often say fck their police, but deep down they mostly know that they are better off because of the enforcement and aknowledge that they're a world power.

The law should be enforced 24/7/365, no matter what people say. Eventually everybody will fall in line, and if people don't like it, they can always take their cases to court.

The real concern should be how does he ensure that enforcement is going on around the clock.

One solution I can think of is to install cameras and mics in police cars. Next time you give away police cars Gov. Fash, please ensure that they have the technology that makes it so that the officers are motivated to be upright and actually do their jobs, knowing that they can be monitored at any time. Please don't just buy empty toyota vans and paint them.

As much as I applaud you for encouraging people not to litter and trade on the roads, people will mostly act in a lawless manner in the absence of law enforcement. So together with appealing to everyone's sensibilities, you should also do your job by making sure your subordinates are also doing theirs and enforcing the rules not just when they feel like, but around the clock.

That is what is needed to make Lagos a very organized city.

That is a true leader leader talking.
The first step to finding a solution or creating a product is to identify a problem.
I am sorry,
The brain dead folks in Abuja right from the inception of the country are just being true to their level of competence.
Absolutely clueless , corrupt and useless.

UchihaMadara: Nice write up, but I don't like his excuses, that if he enforces the law, people will say he hates the poor.

I wish he wouldnt look to be loved for compromising, but rather look to be loved for always being upright.

Even guys in the U.S would often say fck their police, but deep down they mostly know that they are better off because of the enforcement and aknowledge that they're a world power.

The law should be enforced 24/7/365, no matter what people say. Eventually everybody will fall in line, and if people don't like it, they can always take their cases to court.

The real concern should be how does he ensure that enforcement is going on around the clock.

One solution I can think of is to install cameras and mics in police cars. Next time you give away police cars Gov. Fash, please ensure that they have the technology that makes it so that the officers are motivated to be upright and actually do their jobs, knowing that they can be monitored at any time. Please don't just buy empty toyota vans and paint them.

As much as I applaud you for encouraging people not to litter and trade on the roads, people will mostly act in a lawless manner in the absence of law enforcement. So together with appealing to everyone's sensibilities, you should also do your job by making sure your subordinates are also doing theirs and enforcing the rules not just when they feel like, but around the clock.

That is what is needed to make Lagos a very organized city.

ERROR
The police is the law enforcement arm of government and it is under the control of the federal government . Like every criminal arm of the federal government ., it is an hopeless institution that should be simply abolished and reconstituted under the states.
A functional police force does not wait for orders to enforce the law.but in nigeria, the police itself is an illiterate criminal organisation that is full of killers,robbers and drug users

oduastates:
ERROR
The police is the law enforcement arm of government and it is under the control of the federal government . Like every criminal arm of the federal government ., it is an hopeless institution that should be simply abolished and reconstituted under the states.
A functional police force does not wait for orders to enforce the law.but in nigeria, the police itself is an illiterate criminal organisation that is full of killers,robbers and drug users

I really don't disagree, I once opened a thread asking why GEJ has refused to revamp the police force ensuring that it stands for truth and justice.

With that said though, Fashola also has a huge role to play as the Chief Executive of the Lagos state.

Why did he say that if he enforces the law people will say he hates the poor? It is obviously because as the Chief Executive of Lagos, he is able to influence the affairs of the police even though the final say may still rest with the presidency.

All I'm saying is that Fashola should embrace his technocrat side more when it comes to dealing with the police. A good example is with the cars he usually buys for them, I mean he is already buying this stuff for them as other governors do for police in their state, I just want the tech that they buy to be VERY VERY MEANINGFUL as in with cameras in cars and mics. You can never overstate the importance of being able to monitor your police force to ensure that law enforcement is ongoing 24/7/365.

As for GEJ conducing holistic police reforms, I really don't know if he is even thinking about stuff like that, cause I've never heard him mention it.

UchihaMadara: Nice write up, but I don't like his excuses, that if he enforces the law, people will say he hates the poor.

I wish he wouldnt look to be loved for compromising, but rather look to be loved for always being upright.

Even guys in the U.S would often say fck their police, but deep down they mostly know that they are better off because of the enforcement and aknowledge that they're a world power.

The law should be enforced 24/7/365, no matter what people say. Eventually everybody will fall in line, and if people don't like it, they can always take their cases to court.

The real concern should be how does he ensure that enforcement is going on around the clock.

One solution I can think of is to install cameras and mics in police cars. Next time you give away police cars Gov. Fash, please ensure that they have the technology that makes it so that the officers are motivated to be upright and actually do their jobs, knowing that they can be monitored at any time. Please don't just buy empty toyota vans and paint them.

As much as I applaud you for encouraging people not to litter and trade on the roads, people will mostly act in a lawless manner in the absence of law enforcement. So together with appealing to everyone's sensibilities, you should also do your job by making sure your subordinates are also doing theirs and enforcing the rules not just when they feel like, but around the clock.

That is what is needed to make Lagos a very organized city.

You'd think you are making sense but deep down you know you are full of horse shaite! Enforce the law? How exactly and with what resources? Should he physically go himself and enforce the law or send a looney like you to enforce it? Nigerians like you are dumber than a door knob! You see how things are done in the US, UK, Canada, etc and you say yes, we want to do that too, we want the orderliness and lawful society but you refuse to use your brain to create the legal framework and enforcement apparatus the way it works here!

Many sensible Nigerians have been saying that the states need to have their own police, to enforce state laws, investigate crime, be first line of defense against terrorist activities and organized crime, what do senseless people with your type of name say? No, Nigeria is not ready, just like the Ibos and Hausas refused to be 'ready' when the West by our own eminent Chief Obafemi Awolowo was laying out a grand vision for an enviable future! Ibos and lots of dumb Nigerians do not want state police because they fear it would be abused, is the NPF not abused today by everyone from a useless Jonadumb president, to chinko using them as boy-boy, to oga's wife using them as domestic servants, while they out of frustration can just kill someone because they know Jonamumu in Abuja is so far away, he doesn't give a damn anyway and his salary is sure at the end of the month, even if all he does is nothing but drink ogogoro? But a dumb thing like you is now asking the governor to enforce the law with his bare hands, while denying him of the tools to do it! Crime is ravaging the land but criminals know they are always sure of a field day because the arms of the law in Nigeria is very short, except it concerns the people who control billions of naira and can buy official power at any price to abuse it.

In my own country, the police operates at several levels and at the state and city level. I mean even within the same state, you have police departments for each major city, and no you can be sure your chances of getting away even for driving for 5 minutes on a reserved lane for the bus is almost zero, don't even make the mistake, you will surely get your driving ticket which will cost you at least a $ 100! Oh, you have stopped at the wrong place in the intersection? No, you have not hit any car, you stopped because that was about the only place you could, with good reasons, you will still get your ticket and you can go to the judge and prove your innocence if you are sure otherwise, you are out another $100. So, you see why everything is so orderly? It is not because other people are magically gifted with law and order but because the society has been designed to enforce their laws and maintain order. I don't give a damn really, Nigerians should suffer really hard under any useless government they choose shouting PDP and GEJ till they are hammered into their graves by suffering and lawlessness.

madamoringo:

You'd think you are making sense but deep down you know you are full of horse shaite! Enforce the law? How exactly and with what resources? Should he physically go himself and enforce the law or send a looney like you to enforce it? Nigerians like you are dumber than a door knob! You see how things are done in the US, UK, Canada, etc and you say yes, we want to do that too, we want the orderliness and lawful society but you refuse to use your brain to create the legal framework and enforcement apparatus the way it works here!

Many sensible Nigerians have been saying that the states need to have their own police, to enforce state laws, investigate crime, be first line of defense against terrorist activities and organized crime, what do senseless people with your type of name say? No, Nigeria is not ready, just like the Ibos and Hausas refused to be 'ready' when the West by our own eminent Chief Obafemi Awolowo was laying out a grand vision for an enviable future! Ibos and lots of dumb Nigerians do not want state police because they fear it would be abused, is the NPF not abused today by everyone from a useless Jonadumb president, to chinko using them as boy-boy, to oga's wife using them as domestic servants, while they out of frustration can just kill someone because they know Jonamumu in Abuja is so far away, he doesn't give a damn anyway and his salary is sure at the end of the month, even if all he does is nothing but drink ogogoro? But a dumb thing like you is now asking the governor to enforce the law with his bare hands, while denying him of the tools to do it! Crime is ravaging the land but criminals know they are always sure of a field day because the arms of the law in Nigeria is very short, except it concerns the people who control billions of naira and can buy official power at any price to abuse it.

In my own country, the police operates at several levels and at the state and city level. I mean even within the same state, you have police departments for each major city, and no you can be sure your chances of getting away even for driving for 5 minutes on a reserved lane for the bus is almost zero, don't even make the mistake, you will surely get your driving ticket which will cost you at least a $ 100! Oh, you have stopped at the wrong place in the intersection? No, you have not hit any car, you stopped because that was about the only place you could, with good reasons, you will still get your ticket and you can go to the judge and prove your innocence if you are sure otherwise, you are out another $100. So, you see why everything is so orderly? It is not because other people are magically gifted with law and order but because the society has been designed to enforce their laws and maintain order. I don't give a damn really, Nigerians should suffer really hard under any useless government they choose shouting PDP and GEJ till they are hammered into their graves by suffering and lawlessness.

Madam you need to relax for real, and why bring tribe into this discussion?

I'm all in support of state police by the way, but definitely not in support of the vile way in which you choose to make your points known. Surely there is a more intellectual/diplomatic/non-retarrrded way you can get your points across, no?

.

why him no visit Apapa on either Tuesday, or Wednesday or a Friday?