Chief Osita Chukwu Patrick (Coordinator, SNIFIEC)
My take on this issue is that you cannot compromise national interest for personal interest, and if a truck that is not good is allowed into the ports to pick up goods, what is shown is personal interest, when it comes to national interest there is a policy and it that policy implemented, you must abide by it, you cannot say government should allow you carry a dilapidated truck into the port, now you are going on the highway and the whole container is messed up, the owner of the cargo doesn’t get it and yet he has paid. However, NPA should not be asking truckers for money now that the economy is still tight, the N10,000 registration NPA is demanding is uncalled for, NPA has collected so much money without giving government what it deserves, now government is finding it difficult, they are now calling the truck owners who have nothing to feed with to come and start paying N10,000.
Okechukwu Vincent (Freight Forwarder)
When you look at the quality of the trucks, you will see that it is nothing to write home about, but this is mainly due to the fact that trucks are very expensive to procure, so if government can assist the transporters by way of loan to buy good trucks, some rich individuals can also do so, Dangote can assist, so also other companies can equally assist. The road is another factor contributing to the damage of the trucks, so unless the roads are put in proper shape, the trucks will continue to go back after few months or years of usage. But basically, the trucks are of very low standard in terms of lifespan, strength and age. So I agree that gradually they should be phased-out, and if there is an alternative, they should be automatically phased out.
Compt. Banyin Christopher (Retired Customs Controller)
I believe the trucks are still okay for the type of cargoes they carry, the containers falling off is as a result of the bad roads, my office is located in front of Coconut bus stop and I know that place could be very terrible when it rains and water covers the pot holes, I put the blames on the roads and not the trucks. In my opinion, the trucks on our roads are okay for what they carry. Looking at some of the accidents along the western avenue axis recently, the road safety confirmed that the trucks are complying; in order words, containers are usually hooked to the bed of the truck and that is why they don’t just fly away during accidents.
Barrister Emma Osuala Nwagbara (Maritime Lawyer)
The standard of trucks on our roads are very bad, hence the need for certification, we need to have vehicles that meet the minimum acceptable standard internationally to be on our roads, every day we hear of containers falling off, you see all forms of rickety trucks on the roads, some of them don’t have lights, no doors, some of the doors are tied with wires to hold them on, some do not have side mirrors, some do not have good brakes, and yet these containers carry goods worth millions of Naira, and yet the vehicles are not worth one million Naira. So there is need for certification, and whatever it would take to get it done, I will support, I believe that truckers need to invest in the business that gives them money and puts food on their table. I support that they pay money and get certified for them to remain on the roads.
Comrade Aloga Ogbogo (Executive Secretary, NARTO)
Issues bothering on minimum standards is not new to the truckers and it is succeeding in the wet cargo section as we speak. I am not saying all the trucks doing business at the ports are of standard ; because some of them are rickety which I totally agree with you that some are in a bad condition. However nobody wants a truck that will constitute danger to our roads. What we are saying is that the way and manner they are doing it is not right. I am not saying that there no rickety trucks doing business at the ports but government should also look inward in ensuring that the roads are fixed based on the fact that the trucks come to the ports from different parts of the country.
Comrade Ifeany Ekwunife (RTEAN)
Majority of the trucks doing business at the ports are of standard even though we have some that are truly in bad shape. Even though you buy a new truck today, there will always be wear and tear of that vehicle; a truck that is of standard today may not of standard tomorrow; so what we need to do is keep upgrading such vehicle and like what NPA is saying; even though the VIO certifies the vehicle as road-worthy today, tomorrow such a vehicle may not be road-worthy again and we just have to continue and ensure that we upgrade our trucks for them to meet the required standards.
Comrade Chika Nwogu (Secretary General, AMATO)
There is no man with his right thinking sense that will say that all the trucks plying our ports are of standards, but the truth is that there is need for improvement. Even if you have a new truck in place today, the nature of the bad roads will make that truck look bad under three months, so there is room for improvement and there is need to get things done in the right way and manner by the government.
Abdullahi Inuwa (NARTO)
There is no truck owner who want his vehicle to be in a rickety nature, but the challenges we are faced with in the industry makes it difficult for us to meet with the standard. Sometimes the security agencies make things difficult for us by damaging our windscreen and head lights which has made some of us to find it difficult to fix. It is a joyful thing for our trucks to meet the required minimum standards, knowing that all trucks doing business at the ports have to comply with the regulatory standard. I must also state that really some trucks are not up to standard simply because of the challenges faced by us. The roads are bad, and even the government agencies are making things worst for us.
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