Following the recent truck mishap at Ojuelegba in Lagos where a container fell on a commercial bus and claimed nine lives, the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), said it has perfected plans to begin the full enforcement of the Minimum Safety Standards (MSS) for trucks.
The Mohammed Bello-Koko-led NPA, which commiserated with the families of the nine victims, said truck owners had in the past found a way to resist the stiff enforcement of the Minimum Safety Standards but the authority will no longer tolerate such.
The NPA, however, ordered a full-scale investigation to ascertain the source of the container linked to the Ojuelegba accident that claimed nine lives in Lagos.
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According to the NPA, there is an ongoing investigation to track the container loading port and terminal where the truck came from in order to establish a failure to adhere to best practices in articulated vehicle management.
The Authority however assures that the person responsible for the breach of the procedure will face the harshest sanctions.
“This very sad incident further justifies the need for the full enforcement of the Minimum Safety Standards (MSS) for trucks, which the Nigerian Ports Authority has articulated even though with stiff resistance from some truck owners.
“The Authority is poised more than ever before, in partnership with the Lagos State government and the Federal Road Service Corps, to fully enforce these Minimum Safety Standards for trucks and impose stiffer penalties on truck drivers and owners to forestall a reoccurrence and serve as deterrence to those who operate in breach,” the NPA said on its official Twitter handle @nigerianport.
It further said that the NPA will also convene a broad stakeholder engagement with truck owners, terminal operators, and off-dock workers at various locations to streamline the activities of these trucks and reiterate zero tolerance for violations of the Minimum Safety Standards.
The authority said that the engagement will eliminate the recurrence of tragic incidents and truck breakdowns on the highway
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