Despite the lull in the importation of vehicles into the country through the seaports, clearing agents at the Ports and Terminal Multipurposes Limited (PTML) off dock terminal at Mile 2, along the Apapa Oshodi expressway have appealed to the terminal operator to put in place measures in ensuring that the crowd are properly controlled.
The operators lamented that the uncontrollable presence of persons at the off dock facility poses a major threat to operational activities of the concessionaire, stressing the need for a perimeter fencing of the facility.
Coordinator and Presidential Monitoring Task Force Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), PTML Chapter; Alhaji Kayode Amoni said that the off-dock terminal remains a volatile area for clearance of vehicles.
"We have been in talks with management of PTML on the need to control the crowd at the Mile 2 terminal where we clear some of the imported vehicles, but they gave us some reasons they are yet to do something about it", he said.
He added that the Lagos State government is yet to give approval for the concessionaire to erect structures to control human traffic at the off dock terminal.
He noted that 50% of persons present at the outer terminal are not clearing agents or freight forwarders.
The ANLCA stalwart however called on management of the terminal to fence the outer part of the terminal, saying that it will serve as a short term measures for controlling the crowd.
"Fencing of the outer part of the terminal will help in controlling the crowd", he advised.
According to him, "some people do not have any business at the out terminal but it is left for the terminal operator to put in place measures to know who is supposed to be present here because it is threat to our business"
"We don't know who is who here and we cannot jump at people to ask such questions to know why they are here"
"Many of them are not agents and the access card is just to gain entrance to the terminal, but what about the people that are outside the terminal who takes care of them'', he asked.
Alhaji Amoni said that the crowd inside the terminal is always orderly, but the problem they are faced with is the outer part of the terminal which is very close to the chaotic road where traffic gridlock is always present.
The coordinator also lamented that officials of the government deployed to the road have failed to live up to expectations.
Also speaking, another chieftain of ANLCA; Chief Emmanuel Tobi disclosed that the crowd at the premises was as a result of a car carrier that berthed at the mother terminal at Tin Can Island port.
Chief Tobi lamented that there are so many agents struggling to clear a single vehicle out of the terminal, which often lead to the crowd outside the off dock terminal.
He said clearing of vehicles is currently at lowest ebb, stressing that there is the for the concessionaire to feed its off dock facilities with imported vehicles.
Tobi noted that some vehicles are transferred to Mile 2 terminal in order to avoid congestion at the terminal at Tin Can Island port.
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