The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shipper’s Council (NSC), Mr. Hassan Bello, has assured the Lagos state government of its readiness to partner with it in addressing the Apapa gridlock.
The Executive Secretary said this when he led his management team on a visit to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu in his office in Alausa.
He disclosed that the purpose of the meeting was to brief the governor on some key issues like multimodal approach to cargo delivery & evacuation, 24-hour Port Operations, Digitalisation of the Port and Traffic Management.
The Head, Public Relations at the Council, Rakiya Zubairu, in a statement said Bello emphasised the importance of synergy and coordination stressing that the provision of infrastructure must be prioritised.
According to the ES, “if infrastructure is not coordinated or integrated, very little progress will be made”.
Commending the federal and Lagos State government, the NSC boss drew attention to federal government’s effort in ensuring that access roads to the ports are completed.
Bello presented to Governor Sanwo-Olu and his team the 2015 NSC-commissioned National Freight Information and Transport Hub (NAFITH) report which outlined solutions to the Apapa traffic gridlock that arose after the ports was concessioned.
The ES pledged the Council’s assistance in training LASTMA officials for better service delivery in the port axis, an offer that was well-received by the governor who added that LASTMA should have an office in Apapa.
Bello informed the governor about the monthly heads of Maritime agencies meeting. He said the synergy brought about by this meeting will impact positively on the Maritime sector, leading to economic gains for the nation.
Present at the meeting was, Governor Sanwo-Olu; his deputy, Dr. Femi Hamzat; the commissioner of transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, and the Permanent Secretary Ministry of transport, Oluseyi Whenu.
Special Assistant, Transportation to the governor, Mr. Oluwatoyin Fayinka assured the team from Shippers’ Council of the State’s cooperation, stating that the goals of his government and that of Nigerian Shippers’ Council in terms of restoring sanity to Apapa and making Lagos a smart city are the same.
