The Senior Special Assistant on Transportation Logistics to Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mr Hassan Adekoya, has acknowledged that extortion along the Apapa port corridor may be difficult to completely eliminate despite sustained efforts by government and industry stakeholders to restore order in the area.
Mr Adekoya made the disclosure during a televised interview while assessing measures introduced to improve traffic management, ease congestion and enhance business activities around the Lagos ports.
According to him, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), in collaboration with the Lagos State Government and other stakeholders, recorded significant progress in addressing longstanding challenges along the Apapa corridor.
He noted that the intervention received strong backing from the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation under the leadership of the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, alongside other government agencies involved in the exercise.
Mr Adekoya, however, expressed concern that extortion and illegal activities resurfaced shortly after the removal of several unauthorised checkpoints, illegal structures and traffic bottlenecks along the route.
Despite the setback, he said the reforms have significantly improved travel times and traffic flow within the corridor.
According to him, motorists can now travel from Apapa to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in less than 20 minutes, while journeys from Apapa to Victoria Island can be completed within a similar timeframe.
The Apapa port corridor remains a critical economic route for Nigeria’s maritime and logistics sector, with stakeholders continuing to advocate stronger enforcement measures to curb extortion, improve ease of doing business and sustain recent gains in traffic management.
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