Terminal operators under the aegis of the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) have rejected in totality, the new guidelines rolled out recently by the Presidential Task Team on Apapa gridlock, which restrict movement of trucks evacuating cargo out of Apapa port city to only daytime.
According to them, the guideline is a recipe for chaos, which will further compound traffic congestion on the port access roads and exacerbate port congestion.
The task team drew up the guideline without inputs from critical stakeholders, especially truck ans terminal operators, and shipping companies and without regards for prevailing cargo backlog at the nation’s seaports, said STOAN in a statement signed by Bolaji Akinola, its spokesperson.
“The Federal Government deliberately left the ports open to keep the flow of essential supplies to Nigerians at this difficult time, but the task team has come up with guidelines that suppress the timely evacuation of cargo at the port. Why creating guidelines that restrict the movement of trucks evacuating cargoes at the port? Is this not contrary to the position of the Federal Government that the logistics and supply chain should not be interrupted?” STOAN said in the statement issued on Sunday.
Stating that the port operate round-the-clock and that cargo evacuation must be done round-the-clock including at night in order to avoid port congestion, STOAN also said that part of the guidelines allowing port-bound trucks to access the Lagos Port Complex Apapa only via the Wharf Road, while those being used for other purposes have unrestricted use of all other access roads is ‘ill-advised’.
“How do you ask the port trucks not to work at certain times and not to use certain roads? The roads in Apapa are for port operations. We kindly urge President Muhammadu Buhari to call the task team to order,” STOAN said.
The association also asked the Federal Government to mandate the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to take over traffic management on the port access roads, “so as to clear the chaos created by the task team”.
“NPA has a robust security department that had done a good job in managing the traffic on the port access roads in the past and it is the consensus of stakeholders that they should return to that role. We also call on the Federal Government to investigate allegations of extortion of truck drivers by the task team as well as alleged preferential treatment granted petrol tankers and some truckers,” STOAN said.
“It has become imperative to note that other truckers and stakeholders have complained severally about this injustice especially on extortion of truckers,” STOAN added.
Recall that the Presidential task team recently stated in its new guideline that movement of trucks would only take place during the day time as night truck movement would be only reserved for branded trucks of manufacturing concerns such as Dangote Group, BUA Group, HoneyWell Group, Flour Mills Nigeria, FMN Standard Flour, excluding container carrying trucks.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
