Farinto Kayode (Chair. Tin Can chapter, ANLCA)
There have been compliance on the part of the agents; our members are paying the money, but for someone like me, I still believe that it amounts to double taxation and it should not be allowed. We are still following it in the court and whatever happens at the end of the day, Nigerians will be made to know. We have our reasons for taking it to court and we will be patient to hear what the court decides on the issue, if the court says it is in other then its okay, but if the court says it is wrong even in the next five years, then Lagos state government will have to account for whatever she has collected and give it back to agents through their various chapters. The mode of collection is N500 for small vehicles, some are N1000 depending on the type, and our people have been complying. But I tell you that it is only in Nigeria that you collect money with force, if you go to the various sights now you will see how they are collecting the money, they arm-twist the agents and insist that they must pay even at gun point because each collector is assigned two police men, so it is not as if people are paying it willingly. So on the issue of wharf landing, I am against it and I still maintain my position, but we are still awaiting the final decision from the court.
Usman Sanusi (Chair. BOT, NAGAFF)
So far so good, we have seen it going and the agents have been paying, one thing I must say is that the government has the right to collect tax from individuals and organizations, and we can also see the effects as the Lagos state governor is really working and that is why he has always insisted on the need for everyone to pay taxes. I don’t see anything bad with the wharf landing fee because the amount is not so much, but what I think should be done is the mode of collection of the fee, it should be more scientific, maybe government should use the terminal operators or even the customs to collect it because standing on the street to collect wharf landing fee is not palatable, it endangers the lives of the collectors and other road users. There is nothing bad in the consultant collecting it because we are in the era of privatization where government does not have to be involved in everything, but the problem I have is the mode of collection, it should be fine-tuned and made more scientific. The argument of the state government is that the trucks that come out of the ports put a lot of pressure on the road that is being developed and maintained by the state government, we have seen the state government developing roads that are outside the ports and we have equally seen how these trucks destroy some roads outside the ports so I think the collection is serving its purpose to a great extent.
Tokunbo Oguntowo (Depot Manager)
There have not been any trouble with the collection, people are paying it so it has been effective, but what we are begging them for now is that they should please let us see the effects of the payments, the way it is now in this country every body is trying to take from the oil money by imposing different taxes on the oil sector and marketers which is not supposed to be because all these costs invariably transfer back to the end user. It is like a tax and the essence is that the roads being damaged by trucks will be repaired with it, they have been collecting the money, but it’s just for them to use it and let us see the effects, if you take a look at our access roads it is still in deplorable state.
Fred Ogbo (Freight forwarder)
I will say it is an extension of corruption because the agents that used to collect this money commit so much illegality, if you give them N500 or N300 they can allow you to go instead of N1000. If they are mandated to collect N100, 000 for the state government in a day, I am telling you with assurance that they are making another N100, 000 for themselves. Wharf landing fees might be of good intention, but the operators are bastardizing it into a very bad business. If you want to confirm this, you can go to any collection point and within five to ten minutes you will see it yourself.
We must understand that most of the roads are not state owned, Apapa- Oshodi expressway is a federal highway, from there to Ikorodu is a federal highway, so the state government can not tell us that they want to use the money generated from wharf landing fees to repair roads damaged by trucks, some Tokunboh cars that are on transit are also made to pay, what damage has that done to the road that will warrant their importers to pay. So, this is what I mean when I say it is an extension of corruption.
Frank Aliakor (Sec. Apapa chapter, ANLCA)
I can tell you that the Lagos state government took the toll from us because we are the ones that are supposed to be collecting that money, but because most of their members who are in the House of Assembly and who must have been in the local government of Apapa here saw that its like the people in the maritime sector are enjoying more through our collection of such money so they had to lobby the House of Assembly to support the bill, the bill scaled through and they have succeeded in collecting the money. We can not say that Lagos state government should not have internal revenue generation but it is at the detriment of the associations because they are stylishly extorting our members so we don’t see it as a good thing, not only are they intimidating our members but they are also causing a lot of traffic congestions as a result of this collection and they are being supported by the police, but I can assure you that there have never been any showdown between us because we are law-abiding people and we are in a noble profession. They are not using this money for the said purpose, they are supposed to use it to maintain the access roads, you can see all the entrances and exits to the ports are still very bad, if they must continue to collect that money, then it should be injected into the repair of roads or else we will ask our members to stop paying that money.
Samson Omashola (Truck Driver)
From what I can see, I think it is a form of double taxation, the N1000 they said is meant to be shared between the three local governments so that they will stop collecting money from people on other roads but you see, it is a smart way of duping Nigerians all in the name of revenue generation. There is no need for wharf landing fee because all the necessary dues have been paid inside the port so why the double taxation, moreover this is a federal road, most of us are not even going through Lagos roads we go outside Lagos and I wonder why they collect the money from us. N1000 for 20 footer and most of the time they will not issue you any receipt, the collectors prefer that you pay N500 so that they can pocket it. So in most cases, they strike a bargain with you to do it 50-50, so apart from the money they collect for the state government, the operators also make a reasonable sum for their personal pockets.
Discussion about this post