Agitated members of Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Associations (COMTUA), who are basically maritime truck owners, have accused the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), of flagrant usurpation of the economic powers of Nigerian Shippers’Council (NSC) through the activities of NPA- licensed Truck Transit Park operators (TTP).

The Counsel to the truck owners said “Our client reliably informed us of certain developments and unfair activities in the maritime sector for which countless letters of complaint have been written but serially ignored by your office and other concerned offices such as the office of the Lagos State Government.

“Our client is vehemently disputing the cost and value of the services being rendered by ETO/TTP as there have been cases of extortions and breach of agreement on the part of your office.

“Contrary to the intent and purpose of TTP which was meant to eradicate payment checkpoints, there has been a proliferation of illegal checkpoints along the terminal routes with attendant extortion of the sum of N5000  per checkpoints.

“That there have been cases of connivance and abuse of office by the holding bay operators and some agencies of the Government who would arrest and impound our client’s members’ trucks so as to illegally extort money from them and the continuous harassment and extortion of our client often lead to further arrests and detention of our client’s members by clearing agents on container demurrage.”

“That the initial arrangements that trucks would move from the satellite parks to the pre-gate and then into the terminal within the period of two days have not been realized as trucks take more than weeks to move into the terminal from the satellite parks.

“There has been a consistent violation of movement procedures and illegal parking of trucks on the express road by some preferred truck drivers of which modus operandi are antithetical to the aim and purpose of the Electronic Call Up Regime.

“That the effort and intervention of the Honourable Minister of Transportation in setting up of the Ministerial Steering and Implementation Committee to proffer solutions associated with the ease of doing business at the Apapa/Tincan Island Port has been defeated with attendant cases of greed, extortions, harassment of truck drivers, robberies and total collapse of the accessible road networks.”

“On the other hand, the involvement and activities of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) and the Lagos State Committee on Abandoned and Disused Vehicles headed by the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Government on Transport, Mr. Toyin Fayinka is regrettably inimical to the legitimate activities of the truck drivers.”