Emmanuel Iheanacho spoke that Apapa traffic is affecting the nation’s economy — CEO, Integrated Oil & Gas

Apapa traffic is affecting the nation’s economy — CEO, Integrated Oil & Gas WHAT is the solution to the traffic situation in Apapa? There is a deficit in terms of roads that is available and the volume of traffic that goes in and out of the port. If you would recall that the road infrastructure was built so many years ago and of course road infrastructure is in relation to a particular traffic size. So, if the traffic size increases either in volume or in terms of the structure of that traffic, then policy planners need to make adequate provisions and ensure there are roads to take care of the new development. The problem we have today is that we haven’t seen the benefits of development in infrastructure, developing additional roads and redesigning the areas that are very close to the port. In actual fact, I was moving around Apapa recently I was pointing out the fact that there were lots of obsolescent buildings in the port environment that are not really of no economic use anymore Additional infrastructure It might be a good idea really if you can have people who are really forward looking to look at the possibility of acquiring some of these places, knocking them down, developing additional infrastructure by way of truck parks, access roads, and the problems we certainly have now will not be there. But in a situation where the development of infrastructure in relation to roads and truck parks is static, and population is continuously growing and a growth in population results to growth in trade and there is also a dimension in terms of the types of goods that we now see passing through the ports, you are bound to have the chaos that we have now. But it isn’t something we can endure forever; it is something that I think that a special taskforce should be empowered to look at these problems and look at possible long term solutions to it. What about the issue of Tank Farms? Thank you very much for bringing up the issue of the tank farms. I would like you to carry out a little survey when you leave here this afternoon. Walk all the way down to Liverpool for instance and look at the number and types of trucks that you have and then from Liverpool, walk all the way down to Ibafo, and look at the number of trucks that you see on the road and the types and it will give you an idea exactly where the problem lies. I do not think that the problem lies with the tank farms; I think the problem lies mostly with the container vehicles. So people very quickly like to say is the tank farms. Well, maybe there might be some elements of doubt that may be associated with the tank farms but it isn’t the tank farms. I think it’s actually the port bound traffic that goes into the port and out of the port and the major problem that the road system that exist is absolutely too small in relation to the volume of goods that is travelling back and forth from the port. Some operators are advocating for shipping companies to have their own holding bay? Well, it is good that you have talked about shipping companies. A shipping company runs shipping business and the ownership of holding bay for trucks is not really a function of a shipping company. There must be an overall global regulator or an entity that sees beyond shipping and the issues of trucks that come down there, that will make those propositions for us to have things that can make it easy for trucks to make a transit to and fro the port without too much problems. A shipping company is a shipping company and someone who invests money is building a truck park that is his own job. But one of the things I said earlier is that the time has come for us to have a look at the volume and the types of goods that are going in and out of the ports; and we also have to look at what really will be optimally best in terms of the road structure, the size and capacity of the roads and the capacity of the truck parks that will serve these requirements. So I think that the problem lies clearly in the fact that we don’t have one organization, not the port authority or road transport authority but an organization that takes a global overview of everything that is going on and make recommendation to the government as in what should be done. I think such a body or committee should be empowered to very quickly look at the situation in Apapa port. Apapa port is the absolute economic heart of the nation and if we have a situation when goods cannot move back and forth then our economy is bound to suffer.

Looking at the recent government’s policy on Ease of Doing Business and looking at the situation on ground in relation to port access roads, do you think we are getting it right?Well that’s a big issue, of course there is a big difference between somebody wishing for something and for that thing to happen. You could wish for us to have a situation where goods can be cleared within 24 hours. Well, if goods are cleared in 24 hours and there are no roads for them to pass, then the purpose of talking about clearing goods in 24 hours becomes defeated. So, I think everything that has to do with the movement of goods back and forth from the ports is related to the availability of roads, the availability of truck parks, the process by which the goods are cleared through the ports, all of these things should be subjected to proper scrutiny and this can be done by a committee that could be set up by the federal government that really will have elements drawn from all the different areas; shipping, port authority, road transport, public planners etc, to look at these things in a holistic way and to proffer recommendations as to how these horrible problems can indeed be dwelt with.