Why 80% of the trucks entering Lagos ports are rickety —Truckers

Following the recent fall of a 20 foot container onto a commercial bus in the Ojuelegba area of ​​Lagos, killing nine occupants of the commercial bus, truck drivers under the auspices of the Council of Maritime Truck Unions and Associations (COMTUA) have launched the security blamed an audit conducted by the Lagos State Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) as a major reason why rickety trucks still come to pick up loads at the ports.

COMTUA President Prince Adeyinka Aroyewun, speaking exclusively to the Nigerian Tribune, explained that the way and process by which trucks are approved to pick cargoes at the port is fraught with irregularities.

Prince Aroyewun: “The reason we have so many rickety trucks in the ports picking up containers is due to the way and how trucks are certified by the relevant authorities to enter the ports to pick up cargoes.

“These rickety trucks are certified by both the Lagos government and the NPA before they are allowed to enter ports to pick up containers. The Minimum Safety Standard (MSS) certification is carried out by the Truck Transit Parks (TTP) on behalf of the NPA. This means that every truck passing the electronic call must already be certified before picking up containers at the ports.

“We have found over time that MSS certification is done without proper checks and balances by the relevant authorities. Trucks without required qualifications are often found with the MSS stickers and thus have free access to the port.

“We have many trucks that are unregistered and rickety but are on the ETO platform. After payment of the mandatory N10,000, these trucks receive the MSS stickers and are allowed to pick containers within the ports.

“No truck driver association is allowed to attend the inspection process before these trucks get the MSS decals. Before the start of MSS certification, the truck driver associations have been informed that they will act as observers during the truck inspection. But today I can tell you that we can’t see anything until trucks get the MSS stickers.

“What do we have today? For the MSS stickers, license plates without vehicles and vehicles without license plates are often registered with the aim of being able to call them up.

“No one inspects a truck before the MSS stickers are issued. It is unfortunate that the recent container that fell on a commercial bus in Lagos, killing nine occupants, should happen so quickly.

“Why is it that many trucks are allowed to load cargoes in the ports without lock keys? Why is it that many trucks without lock keys have MSS stickers? The lock key is supposed to hold the container to the truck, but what do we have? We see containers dangling from the back of trucks along the roads of Lagos, threatening innocent lives and property.”

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