Truckers under the aegis of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) have called for the intervention of the Lagos State Government to end incidences of reckless towing of trucks on Lagos roads.
They pleaded with Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos State to wade in and unravel the perceived ‘underhand handling’ of operations by the Abandon team.
Remi Ogungbemi, chairman of AMATO, said in a statement sent to BusinessDay, that motion trucks belonging to members are hijacked from drivers under the guise that such trucks were abandoned.
He said members bear the brunt as they are made to pay between N100,000 and N300,000 fines as the case may be.
He accused street urchins and state actors of extorting truckers along the access roads into the ports.
Read also: Truckers write Lagos govt, decry harassment by traffic agencies
“We also plead with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) to investigate and mitigate the unending frustration that is responsible for the high level of extortion along the access roads into the ports.
“We urge that a committee comprising the State, NPA, NSC, and truckers checkmate activities of MOT Tow Operators and the extortion along the access roads into the ports,” Ogungbemi pleaded.
Listing other challenges, he said, imposing exorbitant fines and charges as a tow for removing trucks with issues of breakdown is taking a toll on operators.
“Outrageous fines slammed on truckers by various government agencies on traffic offences or defects on the trucks to serve as a deterrent is ripping truckers off of the proceeds we ought to use in maintaining our trucks to the expected Minimum Safety Standard,” he said.
They added that reckless towing of trucks is causing disaffection between truckers, traffic controllers, and even regulators.
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