Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), has appealed to a coalition of truck owners and maritime workers to suspend their planned strike, over extortion allegations against the Lagos State Government.
The strike, slated to begin soon, would have seen truck owners withdraw their services from the seaports in protest.
The NSC’s appeal was made during a meeting on Tuesday with the team of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), and the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO).
The Council’s Executive Secretary/CEO, Dr. Akutah Pius Ukeyima, who was represented by the Director Inland Transport Services, Mustapha Zubairu, said that the Council had received a complaint from AMATO relating to consistent harassment and intimidation of their members by the joint state tax force.
He retreated NSC commitment and pledged to organize a meeting with the Lagos State Government to address the grievances of the truck owners.
Speaking on behalf of the truckers’ bodies, Mohammed Sani Bala, highlighted the key demands of the Truck Owners as follows: the disbandment of the Lagos State Committee on Removal of Abandoned Vehicles and the Special Traffic Management Committee and Enforcement Team in Apapa, unconditional release of all trucks impounded by the aforementioned committees or any related state agencies, and the permission to remove their trucks in the event of breakdowns, in line with an understanding already reached with the National Towing Vehicles Operators Association (NTVOA).
While speaking Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, the President General of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, expressed the readiness of the association to work for a lasting solution to the challenges of the truck owners.
The Nigerian Shippers’ Council has committed to work with the Lagos government to provide a lasting solution to the challenges faced by the truck owners.
The Council’s intervention is aimed at preventing a shutdown of port operations, which would have severe economic implications for the country.
