Respite is on the best way for motorists on Lekki-Epe Expressway because the Lagos State authorities has directed the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Pure Fuel Employees (NUPENG) to adjust to the e-call-up tips for vans working alongside that hall.
The state authorities’s directive was introduced by Oluwaseun Osiyemi, the state’s Commissioner for Transportation, who stated that failure to conform would set off enforcement measures.
This directive has grow to be mandatory because the ghost of Apapa gridlock is already hovering over the Lekki-Epe hall with vans parking indiscriminately on the highway, inflicting congestion and gridlock that preserve different highway customers at a spot for hours. These vans are owned or managed by NUPENG members.
In a bid to manage the actions of those truck drivers and convey sanity to that hall, the state governor launched the digital call-up system, which was what introduced the infamous Apapa gridlock to an finish after 12 years of inflicting ache on motorists, degrading the setting, and lowering property worth within the port metropolis to abysmal ranges.
The federal government had earlier summoned NUPENG officers over non-compliance with the net reserving system, which has led to vans amassing money on the roads and parking indiscriminately.
The disorganized operations, Osiyemi famous, have triggered site visitors congestion alongside the Lekki-Epe hall and disrupted the effectivity of the transport system. He added that vans are required to bear validation and clearance earlier than coming into designated parks, a course of that NUPENG members have largely ignored.
“The e-call-up system was launched to manage truck actions and ease congestion alongside the Lekki-Epe hall, notably across the Lekki Free Commerce Zone,” the commissioner defined, including, “The digital platform was designed to coordinate truck entry and exit, stopping gridlock brought on by indiscriminate parking and unregulated actions alongside the busy route.
Initially scheduled to launch on August 1, 2024, the system was postponed and formally rolled out on September 23, 2024. That was briefly suspended in March 2025 however later resumed operations.
BusinessDay gathered that regardless of the call-up system, commuters are nonetheless on the mercy of the vans and collapsed parts of the expressway, which have elevated journey time and value, particularly when it rains.
“Since I’ve been working alongside this highway, I’ve by no means spent this period of time in site visitors; yesterday, I spent 5 hours between Ajah and Lekki,” a Korope driver informed BusinessDay, noting that the site visitors, which has been unhealthy for the reason that wet season, is a results of the various potholes that dot the expressway.
As a result of gridlock, transport fare alongside the axis has surged such that from Ajah to Jakande now prices N1000 and additional right down to Lekki prices N1500, up from N800 and N1000 respectively.
Equally, journey time has elevated considerably. “I left Lakowe this morning by 7:50 am and I acquired to Ikate 11:32 am,” a commuter lamented in his X (previously Twitter), stressing that the identical journey couldn’t have taken him greater than an hour and a half on a very good day.
“The federal government must do one thing concerning the highway and site visitors in locations like Jakande/Osapa,” Dotun Kayode, a Radio host who lives in that axis, stated on his X, noting, “there’s something improper with Jakande bus cease all the best way to Ajah; one thing very improper; this site visitors is from hell.”
