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Steve Agbota
Agitated Freight Forwarders have accused the presidential task team on Apapa traffic gridlock of taking advantage of the failed call-up system initiated by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to extort and harrass forwarders operating in the ports.
The freight forwarders, who congregated under a common platform, observed that the collapse of the call-up system introduced by the NPA to sanitise and streamline truck access to the port, has thrown up huge operational challenges that are threatening to muscle them out of business.
They have howver issued a 21-day strike notice to NPA over its failed call-up system, which they say was creating opportunity for extortion.
They urged the Authority to within the 21-day ultimatum which begins from the day it received the letter to convene a crucial summit or be prepared to face a massive strike from freight forwarders
According to Alhaji Tanko Ibrahim, the Vice-President, Western Zone of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAF F), who rallied together all the freight forwarders in other sister associations, including terminals operators, shipping companies , said the presidential task team on Apapa traffic gridlock had all cashed in on the chaos from the failed call-up system to subject freight forwarders to unwarranted extortion and harassment.
Alhaji Ibrahim disclosed that as a result of these challenges, the concerned freight forwarders have written to the NPA management to convene a meeting of relevant stakeholders to address the problems.
“The NPA call-up system has collapsed due to the failure of the shipping companies to adhere to the NPA directive to have holding bays. Also, the terminal operators, especially the APMT which takes in the highest numbers of trucks, lacks adequate cargo handling equipment which made trucks cleared to access the terminal get stranded at the gate, thereby causing long queues on the access roads” Ibrahim declared. He said this development is now creating traffic nightmare on the port access roads which has thrown up lots of challenges.
Said he: “As results of this, the Presidential task team has cashed in on the situation to subject truckers to mindless extortion. They now demand the sum of N200,000 per truck before they are given access into the port. They humiliate, molest and harass truck drivers in the course of perpetrating this illegality.
“Consequently, these truckers build in these unreceipted charges to the cost of evacuating our containers out of the ports. For instance, to transport a 40 ft container from Apapa to ASPANDA on Badagry road, they charge N700,000 instead of initial N50,000-N80,000 cost.”
