Barely one week into the withdrawal of service from the seaports by road haulage operators in Lagos ports, a terminal operator; ENL Consortium has said that more than N50 billion has so far been lost by the port concessionaires as well as revenue collecting agencies of Government .
ENL also disclosed that since the commencement of the industrial action which was embarked upon by truckers, there has been a massive congestion at the terminal even as he claimed that truck drivers and their assistants are now being fed by the concessionaires.
Barely one week into the withdrawal of service from the seaports by road haulage operators in Lagos ports, a terminal operator; ENL Consortium has said that more than N50 billion has so far been lost by the port concessionaires as well as revenue collecting agencies of Government .
ENL also disclosed that since the commencement of the industrial action which was embarked upon by truckers, there has been a massive congestion at the terminal even as he claimed that truck drivers and their assistants are now being fed by the concessionaires.
Head of Security and Safety at the terminal, Mr. Raphael Oyinloye gave the revelation yesterday at a meeting between the transporters and terminal operators in Lagos.
Oyinloye also raised alarm that should the strike linger, local manufacturers will have no option but to shut down their operations.
The ENL representative drew the attention of the government to the fact that raw materials could no longer get to the manufacturers due to a halt in maritime haulage, pointing out that even food items from the north have not been able to come down to Lagos state.
He further appealed to the truckers to comply with the directives of the Lagos state government which restricts their movement to 9pm and 7am.
Commenting on the effects of the strike, he said : "I can say categorically that all the ports including Tin Can Island Port and Lagos ports Complex and smaller jetties have lost about N50billion in the last one week, due to this strike"
"As an importing nation, we rely heavily on import from overseas and Nigeria’s gateway economy is the hub in the sub region"
"All the containers and bulk cargoes that are coming in are being used locally and those local manufacturers (in no time) will be shut down if this strike continues".
"Government should also be aware that people are working in those factories and if they don't have raw materials coming from the ports anymore, then, there will be no production"
"If the Lagos State Government continues to restrict movement of trucks by night, then security issues will be a major problem at night because during broad day light street urchins vandalise cargoes on their way out of the warehouses talk less at night".
He added that revenue is being lost by Customs, NPA and others, and that, "if vessels no longer come in and they are not discharging a lot of monies will be lost".
He further told the large gathering of truckers to put their trucks in perfect working condition for it to meet the required standards, adding that it is necessary for the trucks to meet the required standards.
The meeting has in attendance top executives of all the transport groups from the maritime sector led by the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Association Road Transport Owners (NARTO); Mr. Aloga Ogbogo.
Speaking on behalf of the truck operators, Operation Manager of NARTO, Mr Stephen Okafor appealed to the transporters to exercise a little patience, saying that "even though weare clamouring to go back and work , we should not endanger our lives"
He added that insecurity at night poses a serious danger to the lives of truck operators and that the truckers will continue to fight for what they want.
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