Muftau Yahaya — October 28, 2025
The crippling Apapa traffic congestion in Lagos State is back with trucks and tankers overwhelming port access roads every evening.
Residents, commuters, and port workers are now trapped in the familiar rush-hour nightmare despite previous promises to fix the problem.
Report by the Network of Nigerian Maritime Journalists states that though the roads remain relatively clear during the day, long lines of trucks start to form by late afternoon from Costain and Mile 2 towards Apapa.
From Ijora-Olopa Bridge through Wharf Road to Tin Can Island, trucks queue up, reportedly paying between ₦30,000 and ₦50,000 to secure their spot.
Sources claim that some officials from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and Nigeria Police may be turning a blind eye, allowing the illegal toll collection to thrive.
Warehouse Road, Commercial Road, Burma Road, and Creek Road are hardest hit.
By 5 pm, many vehicle owners give up on driving through the chaos, switching to motorcycles as they abandon their cars stranded in traffic.
Moses Fadipe, former National Coordinator of the Port Standing Task Team, blamed the resurgence on the return of vested interests who once profited from the gridlock.
He said the Lagos State Government knows how to stop the crisis but has yet to act.
Martins Enibeli, President of the Nigerian Institute of Shipping and Nigerian Licensed Ship Chandlers Association, criticised government complacency.
He called for urgent investment in rail transport for cargo movement and a revival of Eastern and Delta ports to reduce the pressure on Apapa. He also urged relocating bonded terminals away from the ports, linked by rail, to decentralise port activities beyond Lagos.
A senior official who declined to be named exposed the existence of a syndicate made up of both state and non-state actors lining their pockets from the illegal tolls, deepening the crisis.
Stakeholders are pressing for immediate federal action to break up this corrupt network and relieve Apapa’s choked transport corridors.
Without swift intervention, the nightmare of gridlock threatens to choke Nigeria’s busiest port once more.
