Truckers under the auspices of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) have passed a vote of no confidence on the Presidential Taskforce (PTF) on restoration of law and order in Apapa, over what they alleged as high level extortion among operatives of the PTF.
The General Secretary of RTEAN, Chief Anthony Agbanusia who said this in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Apapa last week, accused the task force or working in collaboration of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to extort truckers.
Agbanusia also alleged that the taskforce last month towed 200 trucks from the Ibru jetty and demanded N200,000 per truck.
He lamented that the ‘unlawful’ arrest and detention of trucks by the taskforce has led to congestion at the ports, because according to him, there is scarcity of truck to evacuate cargoes at the ports.
Specifically, he alleged that, “on the first day of June, they (Task Force) went to Ibru Jetty and towed 200 trucks down to Ijora and Constain and they are collecting N200,000 without receipts, they are using LASTMA to deal with us. So we don’t want taskforce any longer, the Lagos state taskforce is also involved. They collect N170,000 from Mile 2 axis to Tin Can every Monday and Thursdays and if you don’t pay them and enter the road, they will arrest your vehicles, break your windscreen and tow your vehicle in conjunction with LASMA, they will even beat up your driver”
“On the 1st day of June all the trucks that were arrested from Mile to Liverpool, they locked them for five days. They opened the gate at night and towed away 200 trucks from Ibru Jetty at Liverpool and took the trucks to Constain and Ijora and they will ask you to go and pay N200, 000 on each truck. Some paid N150, 000 without receipt and this has been happening since last year. The Lagos state government is not aware of what they are doing; the task force is even using LASMA and the State Police Command as their power house and they are covering up with the federal government. So last week Monday again about 250 trailers that were ferried from Niger motor here; opposite Mr. Biggs on Greek Road Apapa; we are using that jetty, they locked the jetty that the owner of the jetty will give them N10,000 before they can open the jetty. Some of these trailers are under hire purchase, there are cargoes in the ports but there are no trucks to evacuate them”
“Now we want the government to disband that task force, before you get to Tin-Can from Mile 2 you will pay spend N300,000, if you are coming from Orile you will spend N350, 000 to taskforce so we are tired. We don’t want them to continue we are tired of them the task force and shipping companies have done more harm than good”.
But reacting to this, the vice chairman of the presidential taskforce, Comrade Kayode Opeifa in a telephone conversation with our correspondent in Apapa last week, said that the control of the Call-Up System for admittance of trucks into the ports lies with the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and he will only allow trucks in at the order of the agency.
“Now that the road is fixed, NPA is the one controlling Call-Up, I don’t do that, they (NPA) will tell me the trucks to pass and the one not to pass. If trucks are to come by say 11am and you are coming by 8am, what do you think I should do to the truck. So if trucks are to come at 11am and you come at exactly that time, if I arrest you, then you will raise an issue. So if anybody comes to tell me that his vehicle was arrested, I will tell you that there is nothing wrong with arrest what is the issue?”
Opeifa who said he is not aware of the alleged extortion, added that he has no control over LASTMA officials.
He maintained that the truckers must have done something to warrant an arrest, adding that the people alleging are touts and trucks movers who are not real truck owners.
“I don’t know about that, I don’t have control over LASMA office, those can’t be our Police, we don’t apprehend trucks at Mile 2. Let me tell you some people have started a second way of their corrupt practices. Some of them do not have a single truck, they are movers. When anybody comes to you, the same group that comes to tell you that they are making N200million per day is the same group that is coming to you again. Because if I asked you who told you this, you won’t be able to give me any responsible person’s name, that is to show you that they are touts. I know the way we operate, so what is wrong in arrest, even if we do arrest, we arrest people every day; so you should ask them what they have done”, he told our correspondent.
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