Activities at the Lagos ports were disrupted for hours yesterday as truck drivers withdrew their services in protest against the APMT Terminals and other terminal operators at the port for the frequent delays experienced due to the lack of facilities of the concessionaires.
Vehicular movement around the Apapa port area was also on standstill while the protest lasted as container-laden trucks virtually blocked the roads, thereby making it difficult for other road users to navigate.
Activities at the Lagos ports were disrupted for hours yesterday as truck drivers withdrew their services in protest against the APMT Terminals and other terminal operators at the port for the frequent delays experienced due to the lack of facilities of the concessionaires.
Vehicular movement around the Apapa port area was also on standstill while the protest lasted as container-laden trucks virtually blocked the roads, thereby making it difficult for other road users to navigate.
Speaking with Shipping Position Daily on the reasons for the service withdrawal, Chairman of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) Chief Remi Ogungbemi confirmed that the truckers are not happy about the delays they usually encounter whenever they want to pick or drop containers in the terminal.
He alleged that the delay is often caused by the terminal operators’ lack of facilities to position containers and to place it on the trucks.
According to him, the drivers usually wait on the queue for as long as five days before APMT terminals (which he identified as the number one culprit) will allow them to come in and pick their cargoes.
Apart from the usual demurrage accrued as a result of the delay, Ogungbemi explained that, “drivers will wait on the queue sometimes for more than five days before they will be allowed to go in and pick their consignments, meanwhile the industry task force will come and tow away the trucks for obstruction of traffic, sometimes they arrest the drivers and put them in Black Maria vans, all this is what they are protesting about”.
After many hours of protest, the drivers were however prevailed upon by the leadership of AMARTO and other port stakeholders to return to their normal activities.
Also, at the end of a meeting which was presided over by the NPA Port Manager, Mr. Nasir Mohammed, Chief Ogungbemi told our correspondent via telephone that the APMT representative at the meeting has agreed that the company will ensure that it upgrades its system to avoid future system breakdowns.
Apart from this, the Port Manager mandated all the terminal operators inside the port to ensure that they inform the truckers and other stakeholders whenever their systems are experiencing breakdowns.
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