LAGOS, FEBRUARY 16, 2018 – Alhaji Aliko Dangote has urged the Federal Government to withdraw agencies causing the perennial traffic gridlock in Apapa.
Dangote dropped the hint when he visited Ijora-Apapa to inspect the level of work going on there.
According to him, the presence of the Nigerian Customs and the Nigerian Navy on the road was causing untold hardships to road users in their bid to collect revenue at check points.
Dangote lamented that check points mounted by the customs, navy and other agencies was causing the gridlock, making life unbearable for motorists.
He said that the presence of customs men on revenue drive on the road was affecting businesses and killing the economy of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub.
‘’We are going to formally write to the government to withdraw all these task forces, especially the Federal Unit of the customs. If they want to set up a road block, I think this is the wrong place to come and set a road block. Customs should not be coming here and mounting a check point.”
“We are pleading with government to remove all these task forces and leave just the police, LASTMA and the FRSC. These are the only three that we need’’, he said.
He assured that the Apapa-Wharf reconstruction project would be completed on schedule around June ending, saying that the work was progressing faster than he anticipated.
He was quick to add: “Now, my impression has changed, AG Dangote is actually doing an excellent job.”
He lauded the quality of work being funded by Dangote Group, Flour Mills of Nigeria and the Nigerian Ports Authority.
Dangote explained that utilities in the right of way of the project had initially slowed down work but that engineers had evolved a design that solved the problem.
The business mogul said that people were not aware of the revenue loss caused by gridlock, explaining that the cost of the gridlock to the economy was 20 times the cost of the road project.
