Lagos – Some transporters on Friday decried the deplorable state of roads in the Lagos ports.
The operators, mostly truck owners, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Lagos, that the roads needed rehabilitation to save cargo-laden trucks from falling.
The Chief Executive Officer of Summit Haulage, Mr Augustine Ejidike, said that the nature of the roads was causing hardship for transporters and their clients.
Ejidike said that both the transporters and their clients faced shortages and delays in service delivery, whenever there was a collapse of cargo.
“We are constantly contending with bad roads in the ports on daily basis with so many of our cargo-laden trucks failing.
“The road from the Tin-Can 2nd Gate to Sunrise bus stop is a death trap that calls for an emergency action from the Federal Government.
“From the Airways axis through Eleganza round about is full of dangerous pot holes that can fall trucks. All these are contributing to the constant logjam on the roads,’’ Ejidike told NAN.
The Transport Manager of Eagle Haulage, Mr Samson Okwuosa, said that the ports, where the bulk of the revenue was being generated, ought to be given prompt attention.
“We are talking of ways to decongest the roads but should any truck breaks down, the ripple effect will be much on the road users.
“These are roads that were rehabilitated barely two years ago. It is expected that such roads will serve some years but the reverse is the case,’’ NAN quotes Okwuosa as saying.
A transport contractor, Miss Angela Stevens and Mr Ben Madubuko of Square Logistics were of the view that the nature of the roads was contributing to the high cost of haulage of goods.
Stevens said that truck owners took into consideration the wear and tear of vehicles plying the roads in fixing haulage prices.
Madubuko called for a proper survey of the roads, adding that the contract should given to competent firms that would execute a better job. (NAN)