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By Steve Agbota
Tin Can Island Port Truck Operators have called on the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to investigate fraudulent practices and extortion associated with the newly introduced electronic call-up system.
The truck operators stated that while they accepted and welcomed the e-call up system to regulate movement of trucks in and out of the ports, the recent fraudulent schemes plagueing the system are making it quite difficult to run.
Speaking with Daily Sun yesterday, Coordinator of the truck operators at Tin Can port, Sylvester Keshinro, said that said the owners of various holding bays designated for trucks are allegedly extorting truck owners through arbitrary charges.
According to him, operators of designated holding bays charge the truckers as high as N180, 000 and N200,000 in 48 hours, contrary to the provisions that the e-call up should not attract additional cost from the truck operators.
“I want the management of the NPA and the Ministry of Transportation to investigate the alleged extortion in order to ascertain the truth of the matter.
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The Managing Director of NPA and the management team should visit all the designated holding bays to confirm if we are telling lies or the truth.
“They said shipping lines have their holding bays. Where are the holding bays? The shipping lines do not have functional holding bays. And the one like terminal they are managing now are collecting between N180, 000 and N200, 000 to drop empty containers from operators,” he added.
He lamented that the activities of shipping companies and security agents negate the Federal Government’s ease of doing business at the ports, adding that there would be no ease of doing business at the ports when truckers are forced to pay bewteen N180, 000 and N200, 000 to drop empty containers at holding bay at Abule Osun.
According to him, offloading a 20feet container at SIFAX in Ijora, attracts operators a levy of close to N70, 000 while a 40feet container is between N180, 000 to N200,000. He argued that such a place can no longer be referred to as holding bay because holding bay is a place to drop a container without payment.
He said there is need for NPA to visit and inspect the eight designated holding bays to see things for themselves to enable the would know the truth. However, he called Federal Government should not increase the bandits in the country, saying if the truck operators are throwing out of jobs, they may take the job that the government might not like because they would eat.
