Lagos – The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Malam Habib Abdullahi, on Thursday flagged off the enforcement of implementation of minimum standard for all trucks doing business at the Western ports in Lagos.
Abdullahi said at the flag-off ceremony that the primary objective of the exercise was for the safety and security of port users.
He said that the enforcement of the minimum standard would ensure accountability as well as making sure that the lives of Nigerians were safe.
Abdullahi said that the standardisation of trucks was part of the responsibilities of the NPA in ensuring that trucks accessing the ports meet acceptable international standards.
He urged truck operators to fall in line with the N10,000 truck entry permit fee, saying that the money ought to be more “but is being subsidised by the NPA’’.
“We have been experiencing containers falling down and killing innocent citizens.
“This is of great concern to us and we feel that we should go along with international standard.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that all trucks going into the ports are maintained and secured as it is being done in other countries.
“The fact that people are paying N10,000 just per annum is the administrative cost and we are even subsidising it,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Abdullahi as saying.
He said that truck owners should report any incident of extortion by any NPA security official at the port gate.
“Get the person that ever extorts you; get the name tag of the personnel; and come to me,’’ Abdullahi said.
In his speech, the General Manager, Western Ports of NPA, Chief Michael Ajayi, said that so far, more than over 2,000 truck owners had keyed into the exercise.
Ajayi said those complaint included the fleet owners, terminal operators, such as Greenview Development Nigeria Ltd. (GDNL), a subsidiary of Dangote Group, ENL Consortium, Flour Mills of Nigeria and others.
He said that in spite of some resistance to the payment of the N10,000 by some truck associations, the NPA had received tremendous encouragement from Corporate Independent Fleet Owners.
The general manager said that the fleet owners had done their certification and paid the required fee.
Also speaking, the President of Corporate Independent Fleet Truck Owners Association, Mrs Folake George, pledged the cooperation of the group with NPA on the implementation of the exercise.
“We are collaborating with the NPA, we believe in the NPA’s dream of minimum standard and we are in support of the N10,000 levy per annum.
“We are in alliance with them (NPA). We have registered our trucks that have met minimum standard.
“In our association, we have about 40 members.
“We are appealing to other associations to fall in line. They are kicking against the N10,000 but the fact is that we do not want a porous gate,’’ NAN quotes George as saying.
She said that members who had complied had all been given the NPA stickers and their trucks were going in and out of the ports undisturbed. (NAN)