Osinbajo blames failure of PDP to invest in ports and a rail network as being responsible for Apapa gridlock

VICE president Professor Yemi Osinbajo has castigated Nigeria's main opposition the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for failing to develop Nigeria's other ports during the 16 years while it was in power resulting in the current congestion being witnessed in Lagos.

Apapa port in Lagos is Nigeria's main import and export terminal with its container and bulk cargo terminals always operating above capacity. This has resulted in terrible congestion at the port and the roads in and around Apapa are constantly gridlocked, causing huge traffic delays and a deterioration of the surrounding environment.

Speaking yesterday during a special plenary at the ongoing annual general conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja, Professor Osinbajo said past administrations failed to invest in the other ports and a rail system when Nigeria earned high revenues from oil. He added that the federal government is aggressively addressing the Apapa Port congestion issue through the development of a rail system and the other ports.

Professor Osinbajo said: “I think one of the major failings that we have had as a nation is the failure to invest in infrastructure, especially when we were earning significant sums from oil and I think that has led to several of what we’re seeing today. The Apapa Port has a 35m tonne capacity but now it is handling 85m tonnes, so we have so many trucks coming out of Apapa, destroying the roads.”

“We’re opening up the ports in the south-south and fixing the rail system. You cannot transport goods around the country without investment in rail.”

Addressing other matters, Professor Osinbajo urged the NBA to purge its ranks of lawyers who specialise in delaying cases and frustrating the anti-graft war. He added that lawyers who abuse court processes are disbarred in other jurisdictions, whereas such practices appear to have become acceptable in Nigeria.

“We must understand where we’re coming from and how to resolve the problem as there is a great deal of institutional and moral decay. Just take an example of corruption, it is systemic and has eaten so deep into the society’s fabric.

“It’s difficult to simply say that we can end corruption by just being exemplars of moral conduct. A lot more needs to be done, so for one, there is a need to establish a system of consequences for misbehaviour, which is a pertinent issue and one I believe applies to the Bar," Professor Osinbajo added.

He advised the NBA to take a cue from the Law Society in England and accept the responsibility for conduct of lawyers. On the questions on Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Buhari administration and how it was transforming the life of the poor people in Nigeria, Professor Osinbajo said that the government started it in 2016 by crafting a budget that took a bottom-to-top approach to tackling the problem of the poor.