A maritime stakeholder;Prince Aderemi Olikuntuyi has condemned the continuous collection of Wharf Landing Fees by the Apapa Local Government on roads leading into the port, saying that the money is not being utilized for the purpose it was meant for.
Prince Olikuntuyi who claimed to be the originator of the Wharf Landing Fee idea and had purportedly introduced it to the former Chairman of Apapa Local Government, Senator Muniru Muse, argued that the collectors of the money have derailed from the original concept of the Wharf Landing Fees.
A maritime stakeholder;Prince Aderemi Olikuntuyi has condemned the continuous collection of Wharf Landing Fees by the Apapa Local Government on roads leading into the port, saying that the money is not being utilized for the purpose it was meant for.
Prince Olikuntuyi who claimed to be the originator of the Wharf Landing Fee idea and had purportedly introduced it to the former Chairman of Apapa Local Government, Senator Muniru Muse, argued that the collectors of the money have derailed from the original concept of the Wharf Landing Fees.
Speaking at the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) secretariat in Lagos yesterday, he said that the Lagos State Government has failed to use part of the proceeds from fees to fix dilapidated portions of the access roads leading to the port where the money is being generated.
He however alleged that the money which according to him have ran into trillions of Naira is currently going into the pockets of very few corrupt individuals.
Prince Olikuntuyi claimed to have copied the Wharf Landing Fees concept from Gatwick Authorities in the United Kingdom where the magnitude of trailers coming to the area deprives the citizens of social life.
Speaking, he said, "If I told you that I brought Wharf Landing Fee you will not believe it. This is the idea I brought to Alhaji Muse- my friend and I told him that it will be broken into three parts, one for the local government, one for the state government and one for the association of freight forwarders"
"The money was supposed to be applied on the bad state of the roads as we are seeing it today"
"The wharf landing fee would also have been a succor for the communities that are closer to the port because the presence of the traffic to the port would have deprived them of so many things, including social life"
"Wharf landing fees would have been to help the communities but I modified it that, because of our own environment and system, I said that he should be broken into three so that the association of forwarders can also benefit"
"The money today is being pocketed by few people today and the government has derailed from the original plans" he alleged.
The ADLAD Chief Executive Officer however challenged the Federal and State Government to jettison calls by truck owners including Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMARTO) and National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) for a parking bay, stressing that it is an aberration for government to provide parking spaces for truck owners.
He challenged maritime truck owners to ensure that they acquire a parking space for the trucks before going into the business and that they should stop constituting a nuisance at the ports.
"The government today does not pay for the office where I am using, why should truck owners be demanding parking space from government? Before going into the business, you must have understood the environment and procure a parking space for you truck, you intend to make money from it, so why should they be blaming government" he questioned
He also alleged that the traffic at Apapa port was not caused by bad roads alone, but by the demand of money at the entrance into the Apapa port gate.
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