Truckers fault ETO’s efficiency, seek N40 billion refund

*COMTUA vows to deploy legal means to stop irregularities
*Blame concessionaires for congestion at Lagos ports

The Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Associations (COMTUA) has vowed to recover over N40 billion collected by the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) through Truck Transit Park Limited (TPP) from truckers operating at the Lagos ports.

COMUTA alleged that the money, which was collected from the truckers between February 2021 and July 2022, was due to NPA and TTP’s failure and mismanagement of the electronic call-up system.

The National President, COMTUA, Adeyinka Aroyewun, in a statement made available to The Guardian, said the fraud must stop and the refund of the proceeds of illegal collections and payments to ETO on call-ups should be effected immediately.

He added that the body shall proceed with all legal and legitimate means against all of the irregularities in the next seven working days.

He lamented that NPA and TTP have turned truckers to cash cows who now pay for the problems and charges accrued by the concessionaires (terminal operators and shipping companies) at the ports and its corridors.

Aroyewun explained that the extortion through ETO/TTP began after NPA’s concession agreement with private companies such as APM Terminal, Port & Cargo, Tin Can Island Container Terminal (TICT), PTML terminal, Five Star logistics, among others between 2005 and 2006.

He said while these terminals keep cargoes and empty containers for shipping companies, with importers paying for container rentage and services as well as terminal handling charges on their cargoes as listed by NPA as the regulator, congestion became a problem due to the poor administration of containers by terminals operators, with the resulting effects extended to the roads.

Aroyewun said the problem became compounded by the dilapidated state of the roads that led to congestion, which was not peculiar to container trucks and tankers alone, but to other road users who suffered the same fate.

He stated that the situation became worse due to road construction between 2016 and 2020, which aggravated traffic congestion that led to the creation of the Presidential Task Team (PTT) that was later dissolved as the state government took over.

The COMTUA boss highlighted the irregularities in the ETO/ TTP project to include, illegal collection of over N2 billion through POS in Kirikiri, imposition of garage without facilities and collection of money for unused garages, policy somersault on traffic and road issues, criminal conspiracy with some state and non state actors to impound trucks and levy exorbitant fines, constant hike in cost of call up and priority for some trucks on passage.

Aroyewun lamented that NPA had wanted to generate revenue from truckers when it introduced the minimum safety standard sticker, recalling that the matt er was challenged in court and its enforcement was put on hold.

“We pay for road worthiness, Hackney permit, heavy-duty permit and so on, yet you are charging N10,000 for the same service. Double taxation, isn’t it?” he queried.