Following the slight improvement in traffic situation in and out of Apapa, Nigeria’s premier port city, the cost of moving laden containers out of Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports to importers’ warehouses within and outside Lagos has reduced significantly two months after the Presidential Task Team on Apapa Gridlock commenced operations.
However, the first three days up to Thursday last week were quite challenging for motorists and residents of the port city as the trucks came back forcefully, making access to the city very difficult.
The cost of transporting one by 40-foot container within Lagos has reduced to N300,000-N400,000 from N700,000-N800,000, while cost of moving one by 20-foot container dropped to N250,000-N230,000 from N500,000-N600,000.
Also, transporting one by 40-foot container to warehouse outside Lagos dropped to N700,000-N800,000 from N1 million-N1.3 million, while transporting one by 20-foot container now costs between N500,000-N600,000 from N750,000-800,000.
Tony Anakebe, managing director, Gold-Link Investment, who confirmed this to BusinessDay in an interview, attributed the reduction to the reduced volume of business activities at ports as well as the reduction in the level of extortion on truckers by traffic managers.
The challenges experience on Apapa roads last week created much concern, especially for the residents who concluded that the trucks and gridlock were back.
But that, according to Kayode Opeifa, executive vice chairman of the Presidential Task Team, was simply a flash in the pan, explaining that the challenge experienced within those days was caused by tankers that were rushing to the ports to lift fuel in readiness for the Sallah holiday.
“That challenge was expected and normal at a time like this when there will be two days holiday for the Sallah celebration; all the depots wanted to stock fuel because they won’t be lifting fuel on Monday and Tuesday because of the public holidays,” Opeifa explained to BusinessDay in an interview at the weekend, assuring that the roads would be free again after “this rush”.
The cost of transporting containers skyrocketed when the congestion on Apapa road became unbearable as the then security operatives (in charge of controlling traffic on Apapa roads) comprising Navy and Army officers and others capitalised on the gridlock to extort money from truckers in exchange for access to the ports.
BusinessDay findings show that the recent conversion of the Lilypond Container Terminal and Tin-Can Island Trailer Park to truck holding-bay by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), where manual call-up on trucks going into the ports was being administered, has helped the traffic managers to ensure free flow in and out of Apapa.
Other factors that have contributed to the present situation include a clear traffic management strategy that is being followed, regular interface with the relevant stakeholders, especially the transport unions, on the movement of their trucks, support from the Lagos State government, among others.
Meanwhile, despite the improvement in traffic congestion on Apapa roads, the present security operatives led by men of Nigerian Police Force are still being accused of collecting money from truckers to give them access into the ports.
“The extortion is still there because removing Navy and Army to bring police does not solve the Apapa problems because truckers still pay money to the police officers as bribe to enable them send their trucks into the port,” Anakebe said.
He said his company recently gave an advance payment of N50,000 to a truck driver to settle security operatives to allow the truck inside the port to load laden container.
“This money was given to the police and other security operatives that mount checkpoints on Apapa road,” he alleged.
Remi Ogungbemi, chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), said in an interview that truckers were under siege as there were many things militating against the stability of trucking business in Nigerian ports.
“We spend a lot of money on the road but the amount truckers spend currently to enter the ports has reduced. That does not mean that money is not exchanging hands anymore; money still exchanges hands because people in charge of managing traffic see it as an opportunity to enrich themselves,” he said.
Ogungbemi, who called on government to come up with a measure that removes human contact in managing traffic on Apapa roads, said that human contact leads to favouritism, selectiveness and extortion.
“We need to go digital because automation will reduce all these encumbrances that militate against survival of trucking business in maritime industry. The rate of extortion has reduced but it is still ongoing. One of the best things that has ever happened is releasing Lilypond to serve as transit park but people that are benefitting from the system have never allowed Lilypond to serve its purpose as supposed. They are still looking at ways to enrich themselves,” he said.
Las Ali Shobande, deputy chairman, Freight Forwarders Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI), agreed that there has been improvement in Apapa traffic which has also reflected in the cost of transportation. He attributed the development to efforts of the presidential task team monitoring and managing traffic on Apapa.
“Few months back, we were talking of hundreds of thousands to move containers from the ports to various places around Lagos and beyond, but now that has dropped significantly by 40 percent,” he said.
He hoped that with the ongoing repair on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and other roads in Apapa, cost of transportation of cargo would drop further.
On May 24, 2019, Office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo appointed a task team led by Kayode Opeifa with the mandate to resolve, in partnership with government agencies in the ports, the persistent gridlock in Apapa, which has eaten deep into the investments of importers through delays that result in demurrage and storage charges.
Opeifa assured that all necessary measures were being put in place to ensure that the success achieved so far by the task team was sustained. He listed such measures as plan to move containers by rail from Lilypond Terminal to the ports, road repairs and reconstruction, electronic call-up system that would be ready before December this year, provision of more truck parks, etc.
CHUKA UROKO & AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
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