Fashola slams FG for gridlock, filth at Apapa

aLagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has called on the Federal Government to wake up to its responsibility.

Fashola said the Federal Government must address the gridlock caused by tankers and other articulated vehicles which thronged Apapa Ports, causing untold hardship to motorists and residents.

The governor said this in Lagos on Tuesday in his address at the inauguration of BusinessDay’s new office on Point Road, Apapa, Lagos, popularly known as The Brook.

Fashola said since the Federal Government made trillions of naira in revenue from the ports annually, it was morally expedient for it to ensure that it uses part of the money to take care of the place.

He said it was unfortunate that despite the fact that the Federal Government made so much money from the place, the reverse had been the case.

He said, “Apapa was Nigeria’s first industrial estate. A lot of economic activities took place here. And presently, the Federal Government makes billions of naira, if not trillions of naira, in terms of revenue from here. What kind of manager makes such huge amount of money and puts nothing back there?

“If this is the goose that lays the golden egg, then it should not be denied of funds.”

The governor said at a point, the Federal Government sent its representatives to Lagos to sanitise the Apapa area when it discovered, his administration had taken steps to rid the area of gridlock and filth, but after he held a meeting with them, “that was the last time we saw the FG’s representatives.”

The governor commended the management of BusinessDay for its professionalism and vote of confidence in his administration, adding that the achievement the newspaper had recorded showed that it could hold its own in the comity of other private sector players.

The Publisher/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Frank Aigbogun, said the company had recorded phenomenal growth, having moved from a rented building  to its own head office. He described  The Brook “as a spring, a place of replenishment from where we hope to grow BusinessDay from just a newspaper into a full-fledged knowledge company with operations in diverse, but related fields.”

He added that the building which had facilities such as an 80-seater amphitheatre for training sessions, mini-conferences, staff canteen, an in-house gym and a recreation centre, was a management’s way of creating a good work and play balance for the staff.