Build loading bays in 90 days or be shut down — Ambode

LAGOS State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has given all tank farm owners in Apapa area of the state 90 days ultimatum to build loading bays or be shut down.
Ambode, who addressed a press conference at the State House, Ikeja on Friday warned that any tank farm that failed to provide a loading bay after the expiration of the 90 days grace would be shut down by the state government.
He also warned all tank farm owners to desist from allocating pick-up papers to trucks beyond and above their daily capacity as is the case presently.
The governor said he met with tank farm and petroleum tanker owners three months ago and asked them to come up with solution for the traffic gridlock, but lamented that till date, they had not come with any solution to solve the problem at hand.
Ambode stated that one of the areas of concern looked into at the meeting was the non-conformity with requisite conditions on the use of the seaports by the various elements operating in and out of the ports.
Some of the areas, he said, include lack of due diligence in granting approval for the construction of tank farms, such that areas dedicated for trucks holding bays were being used for other purposes; refusal by importers of cargoes on board vessels rather than transporting the cargoes to the warehouses, from where up-country trucks would have loaded them instead of the ports, among others.
“This state of affairs that has accentuated traffic gridlock in Apapa and its environs is no longer tolerable to the state government. All necessary arrangements have been made with the relevant regulatory institutions to sanction defaulting port users, importers, tank farms owners, terminal operators and shipping companies, among others.
The governor reiterated the commitment of his government to making life easier for the people, saying that “as much as we want to be civil, everybody should know that this will only apply to law abiding citizens. This administration has promised continuity with improvement.
“To achieve this improvement, there has to be a change in the way we carry out our businesses. Change is a process. I plead with everyone to be part of this change. In order to assure the commercial motor cyclists and bus owners of our joint resolve, the Chairmen of the related unions are here with me as a sign of their readiness to comply with these new set of actions,” he said.