By CHIAZO OGBOLU

The Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Transportation, Mr Sola Giwa, says plans are on the way to install an electronic call-up system for oil tankers in the state.

Giwa said this on the sidelines of a special stakeholders’ parley on transportation safety at event centres, clubs and places of gathering on Wednesday in Lagos.

He said the e-call-up for oil tankers would be like that of the trucks aimed at preventing tankers from parking on or under bridges.

Giwa disclosed that the Lagos State Government was working with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, the Department of Petroleum Resources and other stakeholders for the e-call-up system.

“We understand what is happening in that environment, there are so many tank farms in that environment and about 80 per cent of fuel we need to evacuate is from Lagos and so trucks are coming from all the states to Lagos.

“However, as we are working on that, we will not fold our hands and allow them to litter the road. “We agreed that they are going to use just one lane to move in and if they breach that agreement, we will cart them away.

“This time round, we will do what we need to do because that road is very important, we cannot just leave anybody to just park. Roads are not meant for parking, so trucks parked there will be moved out of the road,” he said.

Giwa said that about 75 of them were arrested in the past week, stressing that it would be a continuous exercise.

He, however, said that the leadership had assured the Lagos State Government that they would obey traffic rules.

He said to that effect, a committee was set up by Lagos State under the Ministry of Transportation.

“There are over 34 unions in the maritime industry all of them saying they are in charge of dry cargo and we try to bring them together and eventually we were able to have two unions.

“Also, people are extorting money along the road from the truckers and we need to stop it.

“There are fixed amounts that Lagos State has put on these truckers to pay and that includes registration with the Lagos Inland Revenue Service, the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LASTMA) and others.

“We consolidated it and since we constituted the committee, we have been able to reduce the checkpoints that collect these money from that area from 172 to about 28,” he said.

Also, the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, noted that keeping and enforcing the law on that route was a continuous thing.

Bakare-Oki noted that the route was a strategic one for the economy of Lagos and Nigeria at large.

“This is where we have the transportation or movement of wet and dry cargoes across the country, this is where they take off from. So, LASTMA, as an organisation that is saddled with the responsibility of seamless movement of traffic, cannot do otherwise.

“We have done several engagements with their stakeholders for them to see reasons why they should comply with the simple rules of not parking on the major way and not disturbing other road users,” he said.

He noted that LASTMA officials were being trained to perform better.

“We need to have a LASTMA official on the road that is thorough and at the same time has empathy, cautious and also respect the rights of motorists because they are the tax payers,” he said. (NAN)

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