The Nigerian Shippers’ Council has lamented that more than 5000 trucks are constituting nuisance at the two main approaches to Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos.
The Executive Secretary, of the Council, Barrister Hassan Bello said that only about 1,300 units of those trucks are needed at the ports in Lagos.
Bello stated this while briefing members of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport who were on oversight visit to the council‘s headquarters in Lagos recently.
According to him, the introduction of an effective truck call-up system, as well as the automation of port services would usher in a new era whereby only trucks that have business at ports would be allowed access.
Bello however stressed the need for truckers to embrace automation for effective haulage within the port corridors.
Meanwhile, worried by the incessant accident within the ports and highways, Dangote Group has commenced psychological testing of truck drivers in its fleet to check their recklessness in the line of duty.
Executive Director, Stakeholders Management and Corporate Communication, Dangote Group, Mansur Ahmad told reporters in Kano state last week.
He said that the steps was designed to ascertained the level of their mental alertness to enable them meet the challenges.
“We are worried by the negative report from the field and as responsible corporate organization, we cannot watch while the situation deteriorates and we are trying our best to control the situation,” Mansur Ahmad.
Dangote group announced its partnering with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to track activities of its truck drivers across Nigerian highways.
He further revealed that conglomerate has about 7000 units of trucks adding that monitoring of such huge fleets might be tasking.
He said that this was part of the conscious effort to rebuild the image of truck drivers whose activities on major highways across the country gained notoriety in recent past.
The Executive Director, explained that “we are disturbed by the negative trend and has evolved proactive steps to halt it and truck drivers are too difficult to manage, and in recent past we tried a partnership that promotes ownership with them that failed”
The Executive Director, Stakeholders Management and Corporate Communication revealed that “we have over 7,000 trucks, you would agree that tracking and monitoring their activities is a huge job and that’s why we are partnering with Federal Road Safety Commission”.
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