The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has commended the management of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) for using technology to address the traffic logjam at the Apapa area of the state.

Mr Sanwo-Olu, who spoke when the Managing Director of the NPA, Mrs Hadiza Bala Usman, paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Alausa, Ikeja, on Tuesday, said he was excited with the introduction of an electronic call-up system.

The system, according to the NPA, would ensure that trucks are allowed on the Apapa corridor via a booking system. The initiative would be launched this Saturday and it is one of the ways put in place to tackle the perennial gridlock in the area.

Governor Sanwo-Olu expressed optimism on the transparent electronic call-up system, saying the move was the beginning of the end of Apapa gridlock.

He said the call-up platform would be complemented with virtual dashboards that will be placed in strategic locations around the seaports, where all stakeholders will monitor the scheduling of container movement.

The Governor praised NPA for the innovative approach towards tackling the truck menace around ports, pledging that the state government would sustain the effort with strict enforcement of traffic regulations along the Apapa corridor.

He said, “This is the beginning of a better journey time for our citizens within the Apapa seaports and environ.

“This electronic system has a limited interface with security operatives and unions, which usually cause the gridlock problem.

“It will be a simple case of possessing electronic clearance. If you don’t have it, you don’t have any reason to be around the seaports.

“In enforcing the new regulations, we are deploying more than enough towing vehicles to impound erring trucks.

“The huge amount to be paid as fine for flouting the call-up system will be a deterrent for drivers not to repeat it.

“The stakeholders need to understand we are serious about ridding Apapa of the menace that has brought pains to our citizens living and doing businesses along the corridor.”

Mr Sanwo-Olu said the state government would be deploying 500 officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to work collaboratively with NPA and enforce the new call-up regulation, directing the state’s agency not to spare any effort in achieving free flow of traffic in Apapa.

With the new system, no container-laden truck is expected to go on Apapa corridor without clearance from the call-up platform. Any truck that flouts the electronic roster and park along Apapa corridor will be impounded by the taskforce.

The NPA boss said the electronic system had addressed the excuses usually given by truck drivers for parking their vehicles on the highways, stressing that any truck found around the ports without electronic clearance would be impounded.

“The deadline for the commencement of the electronic call-up system is February 27, 2021 and we are here to strengthen collaboration with the Lagos State government on implementation and compliance as we commence the process.

“The new system will be done in collaboration with the State. We have worked seamlessly to ensure Apapa is rid of the menace of trucks,” she said.

“All truck owners and stakeholders have been briefed about the new development over the past months. Any truck found in Apapa corridor without call-up clearance will be impounded and Lagos Government will provide the platform with which any fine payment will be collected,” she added.

Mrs Bala Usman said the era of individuals depositing empty containers in the seaports was over, noting that empty containers must now be deposited with the shipping companies, which are expected to keep the containers in their holding bays at no cost to individuals who own the shipment.

The partnership under the Building an Economically Sustainable, Integrated Cassava Seed System, Phase 2 (BASICS-II) began with a joint public exhibition of fortified foods and cassava varietal display in IITA, Ibadan.

The IITA Deputy Director-General (Partnerships for Delivery), Dr Kenton Dashiell, noted that the partnership was to promote consumption of locally produced products in Nigeria.

He said part of the deal was to create awareness on the newly released cassava varieties as a means of bridging the current cassava productivity gap on the continent, adding that it was also to draw consumers’ attention to the availability of locally made and nutritious foods designed to tackle malnutrition.

Mr Dashiell said breeders were making great progress in the development of crop varieties but needed the inputs of other stakeholders like the government and processors, who would add value to the research products.

According to him, the final development needed partnerships and collaborations with the private sector to add value to these crops.

“I believe that is what SANO is doing and I’m sure we’ll get to learn more from them,” he said.

On the part of the Director of Development and Delivery Office of IITA, Dr Alfred Dixon, he described the SANO-BASICS-II partnership as a “win-win collaboration.”

Dr Dixon stressed that private sector-led cassava development in Nigeria was essential for the transformational change of cassava in the country.

“Together, we will create an economically sustainable cassava value chain where every actor will have a space and benefit from cassava.

“We will raise awareness and trigger the adoption of these varieties by farmers,” he said.

He harped on the need to harness the potentials of cassava as a poverty fighter to create jobs, fight food insecurity and boost the nation’s economy.

Similarly, Prof. Lateef Sanni, IITA BASICS-II Project Manager, said the collaboration with Sano Foods would advance the Cassava value chain.

In his remarks, the Acting General Manager of Sano Foods, Mr Solomon Ojeleye, pointed out that SANO’s vision was to provide foods that are healthy and rich in vitamins.

He identified Turmeric garri (cassava flakes) and OSFP garri as two products the company developed through research to add nutritional value to cassava.

“We have over 39 products in the market and all of them are organic because we put the health of our consumers first.

“We use puree, flour and roots of yellow cassava, Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato, yellow maize and other crops for the production of several confectioneries which includes varieties of bread, cookies, cakes, and baby food,” he said.

While stating that the firm was also in discussion to supply another 100MW to Paradise City in Calabar, he assured Nigerians of improved power supply through the eligible customer framework.

“This is the way to go; we are working tirelessly in getting more eligible customers to ensure that this available stranded power that we have in most of the power stations are dispatched.

“More especially, most of the power stations that we have in NDPHC today are limited in their operations because of the dispatch challenges.

“We are hardly doing the full capacity because of grid constraints but with the eligible customers’ framework we are able to commence some serious drive and engagements with willing buyers of our power,” he said.

The NDPHC boss said that the plant, wholly owned by NDPHC under the Nigerian National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) programme, had five units Gas Turbines with a total designed capacity of about 600MW.

He described the plant as one of the best amongst NDPHC plants with uninterruptible gas availability and a good dispatch network.

The executive director explained that the inspection was part of the routine maintenance done on all power stations.

He said when all three units are firing, the Calabar power plant has a total capacity of 560MW available power for dispatch.

Also speaking, Mr John Oyewale, Chief Operating Officer of Calabar Power Plant explained that the plant had remained the best through the support of NDPHC management and the operation and maintenance team.

“Even though there are lots of challenges, we are able to surmount them because of the cooperation between NDPHC and us.

“With the experience, we have gained over time from other power plants, we are able to keep the plant going because of the existing cooperation in the Operations and Maintenance team,” he said.

He thanked the company’s management for supporting the team, saying “each time we want something from them they quickly get it to us and allow us to progress”.

Mr Oyewale said that at the time of the inspection when two units were working, the plant was sending 225MW to the national grid due to frequency control.