Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has named large scale corruption among officials of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), poor port management by the federal government as well as negligence by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as the causes of the complications in the intractable crises of traffic congestion in Apapa which he said has paralysed businesses and frustrated residents living in Apapa and its environs.

The governor, during a visit to Apapa yesterday alongside the state’s Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, and the General Manager of Lagos Traffic Management (LASTMA), Mr. Babatunde Edu, among others, attributed part of the problems crippling businesses and residency in Apapa to large-scale corruption, which he said, had been rife among the officials of the NPA and the federal agencies operating in the three ports namely: Apapa, Roro and TinCan Island Ports located in the state.

While addressing stakeholders including officials of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Fashola noted that if NNPC “pumps to Mosimi, Ibadan, Ejigbo, Ilorin and other oil depots, Apapa will decongest. So, why are they not doing it?”

He lamented that if the Federal Ministry of Works “comes to take over and repair its roads like Creek Road, Apapa-Oshodi and TinCan Island among others, clearly people living and working in this area will feel some relief.

“The reality is that once there is congestion in one part, it falls backs and locks everybody in. The problem is not what is in Apapa. It is also about what is on TinCan Island as well. As a result, people in Lagos, particularly in Apapa, are at the receiving end.”

He expressed disappointment that the country’s leadership “continues to allow this kind of eyesore in Apapa and its environs. It is just incomprehensible to me. I do not know why a country can treat its commercial capital like this. I never see a country that behaves this way.”

He decried diverse atrocious activities in Apapa and its environs, noting that such activities “have graver implications for the environment. You will see even the bridge coming into Apapa now is threatened. It is just incomprehensible to me.”

He gave insight into what he described as the poor management of the ports after concessioning, which he said, did not end with signing agreements with concessionaires alone, but still required massive investment to make things work.

He said: “We hope the federal government will listen to understand that the concession of the ports and the management of the ports requires much more than signing an agreement. It requires people to make investment.

He, therefore, acknowledged that the problem of Apapa “is clearly a multi-agency problem. Probably, many agencies of the federal government are not talking to one another or not coordinating.”

But he promised that the state government “will not give up. This is our job. This is why we are in government here. We will continue to bring to their attention the pains they are inflicting on our people here.