After 5-Months of Tin Can Road Clean-up, LASTCOC Raises Fresh Alarm of Extortion Checkpoints by Police, NPA, LASTMA, Area Boys

By DAPO OLAWUNI
About five months after the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in collaboration with the Lagos State Government cleaned up the access road leading from Mile-2 to the Tin Can Island Port thereby ensuring free movement of vehicles, there are indications that extortion points are back on the roads, thereby frustrating truck drivers and disturbing effectiveness evacuation of cargoes from the ports.
The truckers also faulted implementation of the NPA Electronic call-up system known as ETO, saying that the system is encouraging favoritism and that it is no longer effective as promised.
Chairman of the Lagos State Truck and Cargo Operators Committee ( LASTCOC) Alhaji Lukman Shittu Zangalo raised the alarm on Thursday while speaking at the Anchor of Nigerian Ports Conference tagged “Achieving Seamless Ports and Cargo Business in Nigeria; Challenges and Prospects” at the Rockview Hotel, Apapa Lagos.
The LASTCOC Chairman who was bestowed with an award at the event, said the culprits in the new hydra headed extortion ring includes officials of Nigerian Police, NPA, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and hoodlums known as Area Boys whom according to him, wield sticks and dangerous weapons in daylight to extort money from truck drivers.
Alhaji Zangalo acknowledged the successes recorded in cleaning up the Tin Can Port access road, adding that in the past, truck drivers had a field day without checks and balances or any serious Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in accessing the port.
“We used to come and go as we pleased, but now, we have what is called a minimum standard. There is now a law regulating the truck system, which has brought sanity to our industry.
“Nowadays, your truck must meet this minimum standard before entering the port. In the past, it was possible to carry containers with just one tire, and no one would question it, but that is no longer the case”
He however called for proper monitoring of the successes recorded in order to ensure its sustainance.
“We need to have proper monitoring in place, when the clean up was implemented, it worked perfectly and made things easier for everyone.
“However, the ecosystem is currently facing significant challenges that need to be addressed.
For example, some of us drivers, might be stuck in one park for two to three weeks, while other trucks move to the port daily.
This situation shouldn’t be happening” Zangalo lamented.
The LASTCOC Chairman chronicled the part played by his committee in ensuring that the sanity enjoyed on the Tin Can Island Port access road came into being.
“As the chairman of the Lagos State Truck and Cargo, we have been in office for almost a year. After our inauguration, the first task given to us by Lagos State and the Port Authority was to clear Tin Can Road.
“Since we are the primary users of that area, we were the ones blocking access for others. We promised to address this issue, and we started our work immediately.
“We informed our members that, as the elected chairman, I wanted everyone to remove their trucks from the road. We didn’t want to use the road as our garage, so we spoke to all our colleagues in the industry, and everyone complied, leaving the road before the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) conducted their regular sanitation on the road”
“Now, from that Mile-2 to Tin Can port, you can see that we have achieved that goal.
“However, we still face challenges. While we have made some achievements, we must also address the ongoing issues, even in the Apapa area.
“There are multiple checkpoints, and truckers are spending a lot of money to enter the port, which does not go to the federal government but to individuals.
“As the chairman, we have not collected money from Apapa or Tin Can, even though we should benefit from our members.
“We are dealing with area boys, police, LASTMA, and even the NPA on the road.
“When the NPA Eto Call-Up system was introduced, it initially worked well. After registering your truck and completing the call log, you wouldn’t spend any more money until you entered the port. But now, that system is no longer functioning as it should, and these issues need to be addressed.
“As the chairman of the truck and cargo union, which includes over 30 unions that joined together, I am here to find solutions to our problems between the Apapa and Tincan ports and the surrounding areas of Lagos State. By God’s grace, we will do our best to make things easier for all truckers” he assured
Zaganlo you have made your contribution well know and let the government agencies do their part of ease doings business in and out of the port.