Sanity returns to Tin Can port as gridlock disappears

By Steve Agbota

Sanity has returned to Tin Can Island port corridor as the perennial traffic gridlock along Mile 2 and Tin Can in Lagos disappeared following a recent clearance operation jointly carried out by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Lagos State Government, which was embarked upon recently.

The operation was propelled by a welter of reports published in Daily Sun on the menace of refuse, tanker, miscreants and trucks taking the better part of the port access roads.

Before now, the gridlock was a bone in the neck of the federal and state law officers for close to a decade.

However, the persistent gridlock, which hitherto defied all known potent solutions, has now become a thing of the past if the efforts are sustained.

A visit to the area shows  free movement of vehicles as the corridor has been cleared by the Lagos State Government and NPA.

This is even as Port users expressed optimism that 60 per cent of businesses that have left the port corridor will gradually return in no time.

  Customs Area Controller of Tin Can Island Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi commended the Lagos State Government and the Comptroller General of Customs,  Adewale Adeniyi on their collaborative efforts to ensure sanity returned to the port access road.

While briefing journalists, Compt Nnadi said “The greatest glory goes to the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide SanwoOlu, who gave the political will to ensure the exercise succeeded.

“We had meetings with NPA, exporters, importers, shipping lines and freight forwarders. We thank the media for highlighting the challenges we faced on the port access road. The good thing now is that the road had been cleared and the heaps of refuse removed for us to have sanity around the port corridor.

“Since 2017, that corridor was not in use because of the menace of truck drivers leaving their vehicles on the major road. We thank Lagos government, the Customs CG and other security agencies that helped in this exercise,” he said.

He added that opening this corridor will increase cargo throughput, in order to enhance trade facilitation and more revenue collection for government.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Lagos State Truck and Cargo Operators Committee (LASTCOC) Mr Sanni Bala expressed the gratitude of LASTCOC and appreciation to the NPA and Lagos State Government for successful opening up of the Tin Can logistics corridor for free vehicular movement.

“NPA and Lagos Government have successfully broke that jinx that always make opening of Tincan port access road look like an impossible herculean task. The opening Tincan Port access road would promote free flow of traffic, seamless evacuation of cargo, promote trade facilitation and ease of doing business.

“It is our hope and prayer that the road clearance operation would be a continuous exercise to prevent re-grouping and return of extortion bandits taking advantage of gridlock to extort truckers and burgle containers in transit,” he said.