The Society of Energy Administrators (SEA) on Sunday raised alarm over threat of collapse of several Lagos bridges due to weight of articulated vehicles parking indiscriminately on them.
SEA executives, led by its President, Dr Yekeen Adeboye, raised the alarm during a courtesy visit to the Lagos office of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Adeboye, during the visit, told NAN that several bridges were at the risk of collapse due to indiscriminate parking by articulated vehicles as well as abuse by illegal squatters.
He called for integrity tests on Lagos bridges to ensure they do not collapse suddenly due to long time menace of indiscriminate parking.
He also lamented that most of the bridges had been burnt by fire on several occasions causing government to invest so much in repairs with the threats still existing.
“Any of the bridges could collapse any moment. We are always relying on God, what are we doing about it,” he asked
He called for community and border security to ensure safety in Lagos State and its infrastructure were well policed to guide against encroachment, vandalism and destruction.
“Under the bridges are not supposed to be inhabited by anyone, living in a place where you are not supposed to be is a crime,” he told NAN.
He said the mandate of SEA was to build a viable culture and high professional standard of service safety and of Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE) Risk Management accountability in energy administration.
“And this energy administration cuts across all sectors of the economy including fossil oil and gas, electricity, telecommunication, solid minerals mining and building and construction,’’ he said.
The National Secretary, Dr Abayomi Akeem, said that movement of petroleum products by rail was important for decongesting the highway.
He commended the Federal Government for several ongoing road projects “especially in the Apapa axis’’ which could resolve the problem in addition to rail.
The SEA members called for fortification of the Nigerian Ports Authority’s (NPA’s) Electronic Call up System to tackle the menace while appealing to the Federal Government to give incentives to the private sector to construct truck parks.
They commended ongoing efforts by the Lagos State Government but called for more empowerment initiative in collaboration with the private sector to create jobs.
The members took turns to proffer other solutions which included reintroduction of night movement for articulated vehicles in Lagos and other parts of the country to reduce day time pressure on highways.
