The state Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde, announced this when he met with various truck owners in the state in Ikeja on Wednesday, January 27.

Oladeinde announced that trucks and trailers were now restricted to night operations on dedicated routes between the hours of 9 pm to 6 am daily in order to avert rising carnage’s on roads during the daytime.

He said the move was necessary as the Apapa area of the state has been rendered less profitable for investors in all sectors due to the gridlock and activities of truck drivers along the axis, appealing further to Stakeholders to cooperate with the State Government to remedy the situation.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Special Adviser to the state Governor on Transportation, Oluwatoyin Fayinka, declared that none compliance from truck drivers would be met with stiff penalties on defaulters. He advised the truck owners to utilize the grace period to get their act together and conform with the directives issued out.

Fayinka further advised operators to secure parks outside Apapa to curb the gridlock and work hand in hand with the State Vehicle Inspection Services, (VIS) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) by ensuring their vehicles are Road Worthy with the warning that rickety vehicles will be impounded.

In the trucks restricted routes analysis, Director, Transport Operations, Engr. Abdulhafis Toriola, clarified the routes to be followed and vehicle specifications. According to him, any vehicle above 6ft with three sets of number plates is considered a Trailer and an Articulated Vehicle, explaining that Ikorodu road, Maryland, Costain and Funsho Williams avenue will be restricted

Responding to the new directive, the union representatives of Council Of Maritime Transport Union and Association (COMTUA), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Association of Maritime Transport Owners (AMATO), Allied Truck Transporter Association of Nigeria (ATTAN) and National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) appealed to the State Government to support them with necessary infrastructure and further review the directive, especially with respect to restriction to night time.

The State Government had last year announced that it would go cashless on toll payments at the Lekki/ Ikoyi toll plaza effective from 1st January 2020 due to huge traffic gridlocks often experienced on the corridor with cash payments.

Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde, who personally monitored the cashless toll payments at the toll plaza on Thursday, January 2nd along with the Managing Director, Lekki Concession Company Limited, (LCC) Yomi Omomuwasan stated that the new cashless policy was aimed at reducing traffic queue length often experienced during cash payments regime to save travel time and ease traffic movement along the corridor.

Oladeinde, who noted that the new cashless toll payments have brought significant improvement on vehicular movement at the toll plaza compared with the previous situation, added that there was the need to educate the residents on the need to imbibe the new system through compliance because of its advantage on a free flow of traffic.

The government said at the expiration of the ultimatum, enforcement would begin immediately to decongest the areas in a bid to free up traffic.

The identified areas that will be affected by the ultimatum for now are Iyana Ipaja bus stop, Ikotun bus stop, Oyingbo, Yaba, Ketu and Ikorodu roundabout and Lekki/Ajah area.

Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde said the essence of the meeting was to intimate stakeholders on the readiness and plan of the government to unlock traffic on the above locations.

He said “In dealing with these identified locations, we will serve a seven-day abatement notice to all concerned locations effective from 4th October, 2019 and thereafter prepare them for full enforcement of traffic laws and their attendant fines and penalties. The full force enforcement would commence at the expiration of the seven days on 11th October 2019. Be also informed that enforcement team would have its members drawn from road union members, traders across different locations, task force, police, traffic management agencies and other stakeholders in the transport sector”.