By Ignatius Ushie
The Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has charged the Nigerian Ports Authority to punish truckers who fail to comply with Government’s directives when the rail end of the Apapa Port Spur line is completed
In a statement made available to Transport Day in Abuja, the Minister gave this charge during the inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan rail line project over the weekend, adding that President, Muhammadu Buhari, has issued a directive on tonnage of cargo that should be allowed on roads and the directive will be complied with strictly.
According to him, the directive has not been implemented as there are no viable alternatives yet to what subsists.
During the inspection, the Minister took the train to the completed southward 8.72 km of the Apapa Port Spur Line end of the Lagos-Ibadan rail line, where he expressed displeasure at the outrageous number of Trucks parked on the rail tracks, making work difficult to complete.
The Minister, therefore, directed the Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA ) to ensure that the trucks are moved out, he ordered that only registered trucks moving goods imported or to be exported be allowed into the ports.
The Honourable Minister was accompanied on the inspection by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, the Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Engr. Freeborn Fidet Okhiria, the Board Chairman, NRC, Alhaji Ibrahim Alhassan and management staff of the Ministry.
