The much-talked-about brand new 2,000 trucks being expected by truckers in the maritime sector have started arriving in country as a total of 120 units of the vehicles have arrived in Lagos.
Auto Port Weekly gathered that the trucks are all MACK brands and terms of payment is based on hire purchase.
The project is reportedly being powered by Heritage Bank, but the sharing formula among the truck owners associations is still being worked upon.
The much-talked-about brand new 2,000 trucks being expected by truckers in the maritime sector have started arriving in country as a total of 120 units of the vehicles have arrived in Lagos.
Auto Port Weekly gathered that the trucks are all MACK brands and terms of payment is based on hire purchase.
The project is reportedly being powered by Heritage Bank, but the sharing formula among the truck owners associations is still being worked upon.
Chairman of Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Chief Remi Ogungbemi who disclosed the arrival of the new -120 MACK truck to Auto Port Weekly last week in Lagos said that the vehicles will arrive in the country in batches, even as he stressed that the vehicles are currently at the Trade Fair Complex along the Lagos-Badagry expressway.
Ogungbemi who refused to give a breakdown of the cost of each of the trucks however said that the new vehicles will gradually replace the old trucks that are currently operating.
Even though he declined to throw light on the modalities of sharing the trucks among the three maritime truck owners’ associations, Ogungbemi noted that the scheme is aimed at bringing all truckers to work together.
The AMATO boss also noted that the scheme is aimed at replacing the rickety trucks operating at the seaports in Lagos state with the new vehicles, noting that with the replacement, the old vehicles will gradually fizzle out of existence.
According to him, the major constraint of the scheme has to do with roads because; there is the need to create roads for entry and exit of the trucks at the park located at the Trade Fair Complex.
He revealed that the investors and federal government are in discussions in order to create separate entrance and exit gates for the trucks.
"Because of the volume of trucks that will be making entrance into the ports, the existing gates won't be proper, so the investors and the federal government are discussion on that issue because the existing gates are constructed for trucks, thus if we start using the road now everything will collapse".
"Arrangement is on with the investor and the authority so that they can open and give us a separate exit and entry gate into the facility", he added.
The AMATO chieftain explained that the trucks are meant exclusively for maritime truck owners and that there has been a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among the truck unions.
In his words, "we have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding among ourselves ;that is NARTO and RTEAN and they are willing and ready to work together with AMATO in order to achieve and enjoy the gesture ".
He also disclosed that there will be a committee to oversee the scheme adding that a technical and planning committee that will work out the modalities will soon surface.
But two truck owners associations, namely the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Tin Can Chapter and the National Road Transport Owners (NARTO) have both debunked claims that they reached any form of agreement with either the investor or AMATO.
A top level officer from one of the association disclosed to our correspondent that there are series of questions yet unanswered on the part of AMATO leadership and the investor.
The trucker noted that a lot of the issues will come up soon in line with scheme because the other two associations are not duly represented.
He suspected a means whereby truck drivers will be used as modern slaves on the part of the investor to achieve their purpose, but added that, it is not yet time to confront either party.
The trucker noted that a lot of issues surround the scheme and no truck owner is willing to work under no terms of agreement.
The truck owner frowned at the scheme describing it as a one association project.
He affirmed that it is the truck drivers that have been sensitized in anticipation of the new trucks.
According to him a total of 75 truck drivers have been trained on the technical knowhow of the new trucks.
"It is a big project but we don't actually know where it is going to start from for now”, he disclosed.
Another member of the truck owners association (names withheld) also confirmed to our correspondent last week at the Abuja Park, Tin Can Island Port that they are yet to see any form of Memorandum of Understanding with the investor.
The source said, "We are yet to see or heard about any form of MoU from the investor to the best of my knowledge"
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