TheCable

Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, on Wednesday said the traffic gridlock at the Apapa axis of the state would soon come to an end.

He said this when the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) led by Hadiza Usman, its managing director, paid him a courtesy visit.

Ambode expressed the determination of his administration to restoring the lost glory of Apapa as a result of the gridlock.

The governor said he was highly desirous of transforming the Apapa axis to be a beauty to behold.

He expressed confidence in the ability of the new NPA management to make positive difference.

Ambode said he was extremely delighted that the agency (NPA) was being led at this time of economic turbulence by a thorough-bred professional who was equally grounded in the political terrain.

He said Lagos, being the commercial nerve centre and a city surrounded by water, deserved more than one port, adding that his administration would not hesitate to partner with and support the NPA to succeed in whatever form needed.

“We have had issues about movement of cargo and every other vehicular movement that relates to traffic congestion in the Apapa axis,’’ he said.

Ambode commended the NPA for investing in the Lekki Deep Sea Port project, saying there was no doubt about the fact that such partnership would go a long way in driving more investments into Lagos.

Earlier, Usman said she was at the Lagos House with her team to expand the existing relationship between the NPA and the state government for the benefit of the people.

In an interview with Government House correspondents, Usman said the major area of partnership principally centered on decongestion of Apapa gridlock as soon as possible, and the success of the Lekki Deep Sea Port project, among others.

“We discussed various areas of cooperation and one of the priorities was the decongestion of the Apapa area,” he said.

“We have looked at the priority activities that we need to do to decongest the area and we will proceed with that in the next few weeks.

“There are several partnerships that exist and we intend to forge ahead with them.

“We have the Lekki Deep Sea Port development which both the state government and the federal government of Nigeria through the NPA have shareholdings.

“We believe that it is a project which we need to take forward within the shortest period.

“We have reaffirmed our partnership and commitment to drive the project and we want to do that within the shortest period.”