Mr. Muhammed Sani Bala is the Secretary General of Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO). He is also the Secretary of Lagos State Truck and Cargo Operators Committee (LASTCOC). In this interview with Joshua Yousouph, he sheds light on the challenges of haulage business in Lagos ports.
· “Nigerian Port Authority should introduce e-Tag Terminal access barrier”
· “It is no longer business as usual for all these extortion bandits”
· “COMTUA no longer exists, it is not registered, it doesn’t have an address”
Recently, there was a threatened strike action by truckers. Can you give us some details on what transpired?
A committee was formed by the Lagos State Government for the removal of abandoned trucks. However, the problem arose when our trucks, on their way to the ports; dropping empty containers at bonded terminals, or entering warehouses, were being hijacked by members of this committee and tagged as abandoned. According to Lagos State traffic law, a truck can only be classified as abandoned if it has been left unattended for a long period. A traffic officer must put a sticker on it, take a photograph indicating its location and time, and wait for 72 hours before taking further action in line with the SOP.
However, the reverse is the case. This committee would hijack moving trucks going to the ports or bonded terminals and label them as abandoned. Once the driver moves closer to the gate of the warehouse and steps down to go and issue a bit of security for clearance, before it turns back, members of this committee will come and hijack the truck and tag it abandoned. Thereafter, they will issue a regulated penalty charge of N200,000, and also towing charges of B200,000. That is altogether you have N400,000. And the painful aspect of this is that a truck that is hijacked from the driver and driven to the yard, will be charged N200,000 as towing fees. So, the situation became unbearable to the extent that the trucking community had no other option than to threaten the withdrawal of service through the collaboration of NARTO, AMATO and MWUN. But before then, through the intervention of the Nigerian Port Authority, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, and the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, and also response from Lagos State Government, the withdrawal of service was suspended.
A meeting was held at the instance of Lagos State Government, Ministry of Transportation, where Shola Giwa, the S.A to the Governor, was in attendance. The Lagos State Commissioner for Transport also came. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation was also present, with a representative of NPA, Shippers’ Council, and so on. And also, the truckers were able to tender our demands, and eventually they considered our demand.
What were your demands?
Our demands include: Unconditional release of our members’ trucks, suspension of this committee, and also allowing us to be removing our breakdown trucks from the roads. So, Lagos State Government formed a committee to consider all those demands. In the meantime, the abandoned committee members were kind of suspended from coming to the port ecosystem for any operation until further notice.
Last year, the Lagos State Government launched a clampdown on extortionists on the roads leading to the port. Are they still present on the roads?
It is no longer business as usual for all these extortion bandits. If you look at the ECOWAS Corridor, Lagos-Badagry express road, and Tin Can Mile 2 and other logistic routes, all these extortion bandits are no longer present. So, I think the activities have reduced to the barest minimum except in some remote areas where they do operate, and we are gathering information through our people on ground, so that we’ll be able to liaise with the Lagos State Government and enforcement agencies in order to get them arrested.
There are current challenges faced by truckers with the E-Call Up system at the Lagos Port and Tin Can, how would you access the process and what are the challenges?
The problem arose from multiple issuances of this evacuation call-up, unregulated issuance of evacuation call-ups to multiple actors to the extent that it started to override the normal call-up because all these evacuation call-ups, they will come straight to the port. They don’t have to come through satellite parks to pre-gate. Once they get the ticket, they will hit the road. So, as a result of that, those that are booking normal call-ups through satellite parks to pre-gate, to gain entry into the port could not come out as and when due. So, there was a kind of congestion. There was a breakdown of traffic sanity and orderliness. So, as a result of that, we have a racketeering call-up from N200,000 to N300,000, being sold at the black market. Meanwhile, those that are booking normal call-ups at N21,000 are stranded for several days at pre-gate waiting for release to access the port. Meanwhile, those that are buying the direct call-up are moving straight to the port. So, we have called on the Nigerian Port Authority as a technical regulator of the port to calibrate the issuance of this direct evacuation call-up in order to avoid breakdown of traffic sanity and orderliness and also not to sabotage the smooth operation of the normal call-up system.
There have been reports from residents at Lekki axis applauding the Lagos State Government on the introduction of the call-up system. Can you speak on this?
If you look at before the introduction of Eto Call up system in Apapa and Tin Can axis that sanitized the ecosystem, we used to have gridlock in every nooks and crannies of Apapa, Tin Can access roads and adjourning streets. Children could not go to school and come back on time. The same thing with workers, fire service, ambulance, companies could not operate or meet their target on time due to the blockade. But with the coming of the call-up, all those problems became things of the past. So, the same thing with Lekki. Lekki has its own traffic gridlock, and it is their belief that if call-up is not introduced in that axis, definitely the traffic gridlock that happened in Apapa and Tin Can may likely replicate itself in the Lekki corridor. So, I think the introduction of E-call up in Lekki is a kind of a relief to the residents of Lekki because they believe it will ensure traffic sanity and orderliness. Trucks and tankers will not just come and block everywhere, preventing them from going to work on time or their children from going to school and coming back on time. Businesses will not be frustrated. Ease of doing business will not be jeopardized and other normal daily human activities there will not be negatively impacted as a result of a traffic gridlock.
I remember that last year, a committee named LASTCOC was created. What’s the current status of LASTCOC?
LASTCOC is a partner in progress with the collaboration of the Nigerian Port Authority, Shippers’ Council and other relevant stakeholders within and outside maritime industry. So, the partnership is still on, to ensure ease of doing business. To enable truckers to serve efficiently and profitably without rancor, acrimony, intimidation, harassment, and extortion within and outside the maritime ecosystem. Members of LASTCOC are actively involved in any stakeholder engagement aimed at ensuring, traffic sanity and orderliness, that will promote ease of doing business and trade facilitation within and outside the maritime ecosystem. And anywhere LASTCOC receives complaint of brutalization of drivers or extortion or road blockage, whether within and outside the maritime ecosystem, the committee does not hesitate to take necessary action on that, in order to address the problem.
What’s the update as regards the controversies surrounding NAMTOP?
I think the issue of NAMTOP has been laid to rest for now, because the matter is in the court, and I think the matter has been laid to rest. Well, I don’t know much about it, but what I’m hearing is that the matter has been laid to rest, as far as I am concerned.
Despite the disbandment of COMTUA, there are still some reports regarding their activities.
Well, let me not talk about COMTUA, because as far as I’m concerned, it has been disbanded by the founding members. It no longer exists, it is not registered, it doesn’t have an address. So I would not like to comment on anything that has to do with COMTUA.
Some truckers claim that the unions are not representing their collective interests. What is your response to this?
Those that said that, as alleged, are they not benefiting from the free flow of traffic along Mile 2 -Tin Can axis? Are they paying money to extortion bandits along Lagos-Badagry express road like before? Are they paying money to extortion bandits along Lagos-Mile 2 -Tin Can express road? Are they facing challenges like before? Who did that? So if not the union, who did that? They are benefiting from these; they have no excuse to say unions are not fighting for their interests. All the people that are complaining that unions are doing nothing, today they are benefiting. How much are they paying? They are not paying anything. Nobody is disturbing their drivers, nobody is breaking their windscreens, nobody is dragging their steering to drag their trucks down the road. They move freely without intimidation and harassment, courtesy of AMATO and LASTCOC.
Can you assess the Export Processing Terminal? Do you think they are doing well and what do you think they should also improve on?
They are doing well because the situation has improved. Unlike before, where you see the system is not well organized, where you see indiscriminate release of exports or delayed movement of exports to the port from some pre-gates. With the introduction of the EPTs, I think there is a seamless release of export trucks from the EPTs to the port. But the major problem now is the SOP, because in the SOP it is clearly stated that all export trucks that leave the EPT should be followed by escorts, so that they will move straight into the port without any hindrance, without any obstacle on the road because they are priority when it comes to non-oil sector revenue for the Nigerian economy. So it’s a priority. They are of national interest. They are supposed to be followed with escorts, but there is no adherence to that SOP. So if NPA can ensure strict adherence to SOP, all these export trucks will definitely not be seen stalling on the road and they will be timely discharged from EPTs to the port.
Finally, sir, what are your recommendations for the government in improving the tucking community?
We need full automation, because if care is not taken in the way evacuation is being indiscriminately given to people who have no cargo, who have no trucks, just to go and sell the call-up will induce post-congestion and may affect the smooth operation of the full automation we are in. We have advised the Nigerian Port Authority to introduce ETag Terminal access barrier and so on to ensure full automation so that we won’t be having the problem we are facing right now, whereby you see trucks that are following the Eto Call Up SOP are being delayed from accessing the port. Meanwhile, those that are on evacuation or priority are having direct access to the port, coming to congest the port, access through at the expense of those that are following the SOP. So, we are calling on the Nigerian Port Authority to make sure that everybody regardless of the category complies with the SOP of releasing trucks from satellite parks through pre-gates to the port, so that we have a kind of one-way access instead of multiple call-up systems. We should have a one call-up system to access the port, instead of having evacuation, direct whatever priority that could eventually lead to port access monopoly, whereby some few people will now be determining who access the port. So that we would not have to come and see some cabals before we would be able to book trucks to access the ports. So, they need to regulate this evacuation. This is seriously affecting normal automation. If care is not taken, it will induce traffic disorderliness and port congestion.
