Truck owners yesterday made good their threat to withdraw their trucks from Lagos ports, in reaction to the new guidelines on minimum standard of trucks doing business at the ports.
The Nigerian Ports Authourity (NPA) had insisted that such trucks must be road worthy and also pay N10,000 annual fee.
Shipping Position Daily’s checks confirmed that indeed some truckers withdrew their services as the two arteries leading to the ports (from Ijora and Mile 2) experienced reasonable free flow of traffic.
Confirming the action, Chairman of Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMARTO); Chief Remi Ogungbemi; President confirmed that the strike was necessary to compel NPA to stop its implementation.
He said that at a stakeholders’ meeting at the instance of the NPA held last month, it was agreed that truck owners should maintain the minimum standards, which do not include the new N10, 000 levy.
“We agreed on a minimum standard being maintained and not on the new levy.
He stated that: “the action will continue until the NPA stops the collection of the new levy, which is to the detriment of the truck owners”.
According to him,” as stakeholders, our feelings ought to have been taken into consideration, and not just the NPA imposing their will on us, every time.
He said that the association was aware of the negative economic impact of the action, but that it was an inevitable decision to right a perceived wrong.
However, when contacted, chairman of the committee, Coalition of Ports Dry Cargo Transport; Alhaji Inuwa Abdullahi told our correspondent that, it is left for the Nigerian Ports Authority to provide trucks that will carry cargoes out of the ports.
He also alleged that NPA officials are no longer requesting for the N10000 entry stickers at the gate , even as he instructed some of drivers to shun the directive.
He said the truckers had warned the NPA about the danger of the enforcement, but due to the interest on monetary value, it decided to remain adamant.
Inuwa said as law abiding citizen they have no option than to adopt sit down option, adding that the truckers have nothing to lose in the whole process.
But, General Manager Western Ports of NPA; Chief Michael Ajayi tool Shipping Position Daily via the telephone that, “there is no going back on the implementation”.
“There is a list of registered trucks that have complied with the directive, we will publish their names and also advise importers to patronise them. Their numbers will be included so that, anyone who wants to patronise them can have unhindered access”.
But, the Shippers Association Lagos State (SALS) yesterday called on the NPA to quickly reach a compromise with the striking truckers in order to avoid a fresh round of port congestion.
President of SALS, Rev. Jonathan Nicole in a chat with Shipping Position Daily yesterday warned that the Nigerian economy is already tensed and the strike could aggravate the situation if shippers are unable to get their cargoes out of the port.
Nicole said there is no point in NPA charging the truck owners N10,000 over truck standardization, he said such moves would further pauperize operators in the haulage sector.
Shipping Position Daily gathered that not less that 250 containers exit the Apapa Port daily, while a minimum of 200 containers leave Tin Can Island and PTML Ports respectively on daily basis.
The shippers boss have however lamented that all these containers would now be stuck inside the terminals with the attendant demurrage charges.
“The strike action will affect us more because shippers would not be able to get their goods out of the ports, and when this happens, definitely there would be port congestion”
“There is nothing we as shippers can do, NPA and the truckers should come to a compromise, there should be a synergy between them, I believe the truck owners are really under pressure and you are asking them to pay N10,000 for their trucks to enter the ports”
Nicole however said it was still early to quantify the losses accrued from the strike action.
However, in a recent chat with our correspondent, General Manager Western Ports of NPA, Chief Michael Ajayi said that the N10,000 levy on truck standardization is non-refundable.
He said that some of the truckers have already complied and the money accrued is going directly in the Treasury Single Account (TSA)
Ajayi said “we cannot begin to refund money that has gone into TSA, there is no going back on this implementation”
The NPA GM said that the N10,000 levy on the standardization exercise is to enable NPA fix some infrastructures inside the port.
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