Nigerian Shippers’ Council, says setting up of Truck Transit Parks with an electronic intelligence traffic management system is the solution to the chaotic gridlock in Apapa, and Lagos in general.

According to the council, with the truck transit parks, the congestion within the city would be cleared within three to six months.

Its Executive Secretary, Hassan Bello made the call while speaking at the third Lagos Traffic Radio lecture series, with the theme: “Lagos State Transport Infrastructural Support Systems: Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s strides,” in Lagos.

According to Bello, on a daily basis, an average of seven thousand trucks and tankers hovered round the Lagos Logistics Ring despite the combined capacity utilisation of the two seaports and twenty-seven tank farms, which was less than two thousand five hundred trucks and tankers.

Bello said over four thousand five hundred trucks and tankers traversed the Lagos Logistics Ring either parked or canvassing for business, saying there was need to establish an Intelligence Traffic Management System to remove the excess trucks and tankers from the Lagos Logistics Ring.

He spoke through Deputy Director, Monitoring and Enforcement, Cajethan Agu saying the excess trucks and tankers to be consigned to truck park with scheduled electronic calls to seaports.

The Executive Secretary said parked articulated vehicles constituted nuisance on the highways, near ports almost everywhere, lamenting that there was no truck stop facility nationwide even at the seaports, saying over ninety per cent of freight transport in Nigeria was by truck, stressing that transportation safety, productivity and performance were key to economic performance.

Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kehinde Bamigbetan, who commended the radio station for organising the lecture series, said it was instituted to engage stakeholders to provide on best practices and tools that could be deployed to manage the state traffic.

Athorney and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, who spoke on “Advancing Lagos State Transport Development- the Legal and Process Perspectives,” maintained that citizens cooperation was very key to ending the hectic traffic situation in the state.