The Coordinator, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Importers, Exporters Coalition; Chief Osita Chuckwu has lamented the harrowing experience of both commuters and drivers in the southern eastern part of the country in the hands of the security operatives.
He said these checkpoints frustrates ease of doing business in Nigeria.
Chukwu informed that over 700 roadblocks are mounted by security and para-security personnel between Lagos and Bayelsa, he alleged that money is collected from truck drivers and other commercial drivers at the various points.
He said the security personnel include men of the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Army, NSCDC, Vigilante groups, and others, lamenting that it's now a herculean task to travel around the southern part of the country without budgeting for the military formation.
He said trucks taking goods to the South-Eastern part of the country now spend three days on the road as against the normal one day that it used to be.
According to him “It used to take trucks carrying cargo from Lagos to the East one day to get there; let's say between 9 to 12 hours, but it now takes two to three days to get to the same destination.
He explained further that: “Some of the truck drivers would leave their trucks to go and sleep somewhere after they have been stopped”
“Let the Federal Government come out and tell us the number of checkpoints or barricades along the East-west road so that road users will know where and where to expect roadblocks”.
Dr. Chukwu who doubles as the Apapa chairman of the International Freight Forwarders Association (IFFA), called on the federal government to take decisive action over the development, saying it is having an adverse effect on international trade.
Speaking further, he alleged that the security agents extort both commercial and private vehicles plying the roads.
“What I am saying is that the federal government should look into the matter and try to curtail the number of checkpoints and barricades.
“I plead with the federal government to probe all the security agents along South East, South-South and South Western zones because bribery and corruption is on the high side.
“I know and I observed in the course of my trip to the South East and South-South, the spots where they mount the checkpoints include: Shagamu, Ijebu Ode, Ore, Ondo. The worst spots are Edo and Delta.
“As I was going to Bayelsa, I was counting the number of checkpoints one by one and they are more than 700 from Lagos to Bayelsa with logs of woods used to barricade the roads.
“If the federal government fails to do something within 14 days, I will mobilise over a million people to make sure that we close all the roads in the axis,” he threatened.
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