TheCable

‎Oluremi Tinubu, a senator representing Lagos central and wife of Bola Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday presented her first motion at the eighth senate.

Her motion‎ dwelt on the Apapa port gridlock, which she observed had resulted in “telling consequences on the nation’s economy”.

Tinubu stated that “75 percent of Nigeria’s trade was ship-borne‎ and shipped through the Apapa port where cargo and petroleum products bearing trucks regularly cause gridlock on Apapa-Mile 2 and Apapa-Oshodi corridors, the trucks also parked on bridges and flyovers for days and weeks.”

She further observed that the present state of the‎ Apapa port road was a huge national security risk as a result of “deadly fumes and falling containers” on the road.

Tinubu therefore urged the senate to direct its committee on marine transport when constituted to invite “the management and leadership of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA)‎, the Nigeria Shippers Council, the federal ministries of works and transport, the Western Naval Command, the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) and the Nigeria police to dialogue on the way forward.”

Apapa gridlock

She further prayed the senate to urge “the federal government to immediately consider long-term plans for technical re-design and expansion of the Apapa-Ijora-‎Orile-Mile 2 access trunks, as well as the Apapa/Tin Can-Mile 2-Oshodi corridor”.

The senate granted her prayers after a voice vote.

It thereafter commenced the screening of ministerial nominees with Adewole Folorunso, vice-chancellor of the University of Ibadan, taking the fi‎rst shot.

With the emergence of Bukola Saraki as senate president, Tinubu appeared detached from proceedings at the upper chamber but started making contributions at the senate recently.