Stakeholders move against illegal checkpoints at Apapa port

By Adaku Walter

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) have partnered with the Lagos State Government to end illegal checkpoints around the Apapa Port.

Port users have continued to lament the illegal checkpoints mounted by both uniform and non-uniform security personnel to extort money from truck drivers and other port users.

At a meeting held recently, the stakeholders expressed dismay over the illegal checkpoints and the negative effect on the traffic situation in Apapa and its environs.

During the meeting, which was organised by the NSC, the stakeholders said there was an urgent need to sanitize the port access roads, adding that the extortion by security personnel was getting out of hand.

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Executive Secretary of NSC, Emmanuel Jime, who was represented by the Director, Consumer and Monitoring Affairs Department, Cajetan Agu, charged truck drivers to stop giving money to any security officer for whatever reason.

Representative of the NPA, Jamiu Anda Emmanuel, said all the non-state actors should be chased out of the ports to ensure sanity in the ports.

An Assistant Director at the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Olayinka Olawale, charged the Abandoned Vehicles Committee to do their job rightly by clearing the traffic in Apapa area.

He said it was time for the committee to act, but advised that those whose vehicles have been arrested should ask for tickets.

National Organising Secretary of COMTUA, Collin Dike, pointed out that the traffic issue in Apapa is being compounded by officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), saying truck owners, who have issues with their trucks would not be allowed access to their vehicles.