Mr. Raph Agbogu (NCMDLCA)
What happened there could be said to be one of the hazards of the transport logistics chain we found ourselves in, it is transport issue. But that does not mean that people should be taking laws into their hands. NPA should stand their feet on the ground it behooves them to maintain this corridor, the port access roads - both Tin Can and Apapa, it is their duty to maintain and not even task force. Because the average Nigerian officer is very selfish and like I said earlier you can see they are back on the roads. NPA should go and get towing van because most the people there don’t have business there. NPA should also become hard on shipping companies and terminal operators having their holding bays. If they can provide their holding bays, these trucks will go there and stay and they will pay, we don’t have an organized system. So there is supposed to be a legislative framework by which port administrations will work on and once it is done we can’t see all these things. Mr. Oleleye Thompson
It has nothing to do with the drivers and the presidential task team; it is just the Lagos task force and hoodlums. The Presidential task team are still working together as a team, what I think is that maybe the because the NPA is not supporting them financially again, the only support they are getting is from the Lagos state government. But they are still collecting their allowances. Mr. Yinka Bakare (NAFFAC)
Honestly speaking, I was not there but I think it is still under investigation to the best of my knowledge and we are waiting for them to give us the outcome. But I think if the terminal is being used the way it is supposed to be used, we won’t be having the traffic we are having now. Stanley Ezenga (PRO NAGAFF)
The high handedness of those on the road, you can imagine the truckers paying some amount to those on the road and when they get to the gate, the police will tell them they cannot enter because they have not paid and all these things cause frustration, don’t forget that these truckers and drivers are all human beings, so when you push them to the wall, you can’t preempt what will happen.Non-availability of holding bays inside the terminals, If you can remember before the concession there are truck holding bays, where all the truckers go and park their trucks, but when it was concessioned in other to maximize space the terminal operators expanded their terminals there by leaving them without holding bays and the lack of handling equipment by the terminal operators are some of the remote causes of the fracas.
Alhaii Abdullahi Inuwa (NARTO)
Actually I was not on ground that day to know what happened, but my manager that went there told me what happened. I got to understand that it was from the Lagos state task force that came to clear some of the shanties under the bridge and they had attack from the hoodlums. But I didn’t know how the hoodlums managed to match into the Lilypond truck park; either it is the Police that chased them is yet for us to understand. I saw some weapons and some of the truck drivers according to what my manger told me ran into the park to hide themselves in the customs building there and they were able to overcome them by locking the gate of the building. Kayode Opeifa (Vice Chairman Presidential Task Team)
The face-off is between the truck drivers and the Lagos State task force and not against the Presidential task team. I think the reason for the face-off is as a result of the recent clean up that is being carried out by the Lagos State government to eradicate dirt and ensure sanity at the Ijora. Segun Musa (Stakeholder)
The incident is an unfortunate situation, if government had listened to us that would not have happened, the problem of congestion in Apapa, is a minor issue that could be resolved within the shortest time. Because of my over a decade experience at the port, while I was contesting for governorship I proffered solutions for the eradication; the long term and the short term approach, but unfortunately they seem not to be interested, because the government officials are also benefitting from there and that’s why they want it to remain like that, we have NPA, NIMASA, NSC and these are the beneficiary of the gridlock and that is why they want it to remain like that. So they are the cause of the fracas, NPA knows the problem of terminal operators, NSC and NIMASA knows the problem of the shipping companies but they have refused to address it. Femi Olabanji (Former Lillypond chapter chairman (ANLCA)
I have over 30 trucks at the Lillypond terminal, and none of them have been granted entrance into the port. On the cause of the fracas the management will be in better position to talk, the truckers are angry, I may not be able to give you full information about the fracas, but I know those who have not been able to access the port are angry.
