EXCLUSIVE: How Nigerian Ports Authority NPA Allegedly Ruins Businesses At Apapa Ports – Exporters

EXCLUSIVE: How Nigerian Ports Authority NPA Allegedly Ruins Businesses At Apapa Ports – Exporters

…As stakeholders knock Nigerian Ports Authority NPA.

By Israel Bolaji

Aggrieved exporters, truckers and members of the Lagos chapter of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO have lamented how the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA has weakened business at the Lagos ports through corruption, inefficiency and encouraging multiple task force officers operations.

Lagos NARTO had cried out to the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led government to urgently come to its aid over the persistent onslaughts of criminals who brazenly extort members and were almost crippling business operations at the Apapa port area of Lagos.

Chairman, NARTO Taskforce, Lagos State, Price Hassan Adekoya, who represented the Chairman NARTO Lagos State, Kayode Ogunowo, at a meeting said contrary to the agreement that the electronic call-up system, otherwise known as ‘ETO’ will cost N10,000, truck owners now pay as much as N31,500 for the service.

Adekoya said: “Even with your N31, 500, you will still need an additional N100, 000 to N150, 000 to access the port. Whereas some that have no genuine call-up have access to the port daily. With your genuine call-up, you can’t access the port in two to three weeks, it is not possible. Over 1,000 accessed the port within the first week of the introduction of ETO. But in the third week, everything collapsed. The committee set up by the Lagos State Government to replace the presidential task force never showed any sincerity despite NARTO’s advice on how to end the mayhem.”

Dike Ekene Collins, an exporter, trucker and NARTO officer also condemned nefarious activities of faceless and multiple task force groups who indulge in wanton extortion, hijacking of trucks, denying access to the port for export containers, granting only those who pay outrageous bribes to the tune of tune of N150,000 access the port in the dead of the night while the legitimate operators after paying the official rate of over N30,0000 accumulate demurrages on their stranded export trucks and incurred losses on the export goods which rot away right at the port after being stranded for as  much as over 3 months.

A visibly angered Collins revealed: “I am talking about the ports of the federation, port in apapa, port in Tincan axis in Tincan; they have decided to frustrate us and they have achieved that technically. They introduced a software called Eto, a vehicle queueing system app. The software and the workers are truly great. However because they operate under NPA, they don’t operate optimally. They still take instructions from Nigerian Ports Authority NPA has for a very long time been frustrating this business (export trading). And currently we have the law enforcement agents, including LASTMA, FRSC, Police, and Navy under the LAMI Bridge. They are all working in tandem to frustrate all businesses at the port – be it truckers, importers, exporters. Everybody is being frustrated. For example, the NPA woke up one morning and decided to shut down the portal for exports. They told us plainly that exports will not access the ports for three weeks. They did it twice. First one was two weeks and second time three week. Imagine the impact of not being able to export commodities in a country where the Federal government is doing so much to grow trade and economy.

”They have a system of favouring a particular group. They have allegedly favoured different groups at different times based on some clandestine arrangements, for example, empty containers while export containers are frustrated. You can’t imagine that our drivers stay for as long as three months; even drivers have died; truck owners have died, in this situation. We are calling on the Lagos State government and all constituted authorities to please come to our aid. Terminal operators are not excluded. APMT in particular, I am calling them out. You are killing business. APMT can wake up one morning and say they can’t accept export containers. When you get totally frustrated on the queue, you can’t even do anything. Before you know it they will say it is abandoned trucks and will tow it away. They will tow our trucks after keeping us for so long on the queue and slam us with as much as N250, 000 to N300, 000 fines. The fines are paid in cash. They tow our trucks, slam us fines, beat up or sometimes shoot our drivers. We have written to the government many times. The strange thing is that the groups are faceless, if you enquire about officials in charge of abandonment, nobody will tell you anything, and nobody is in charge officially or provides direct answers.

“It is not about my personal interest; ask any container truck’s driver and they will tell you the terrible details and their experiences. It’s an open place, get people’s sorry stories and see if I am just speaking to favour me. People have sold their trucks, 4 or 5 trucks, because of these problems. The government should set up a wider stakeholder’s forum that will accommodate exporters, transporters, customs licensed agents, and terminal operators etc. we have to sit on a round table and discuss. For example, at this time we should not have a fine of N300, 000 or N400, 000 on an export laden container. Do you know the effects? The export container will miss the cut-off date and pay detention charges of about $2800. The ships are leaving Nigeria with empty containers. I met a white vessel captain who asked if Nigerians are not mad, querying why ships leave Nigeria empty without export goods while there are exports containers flooding everywhere.

Nigerian Ports Authority NPA launched the new Eto app for online truck queueing system. It was from Nigerian Ports Authority NPA. Since Nigerian Ports Authority NPA launched the app, both the back end called the demon operation in software parlance (the operating system behind) is being controlled by the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA. Of course, you log in for booking which is the first step, and then go into any of the strategic parks in Lagos. Then you move to the pre-gate and to the port. Lillypond is an example of pre-gate. Sadly, Nigerian Ports Authority NPA manipulates the process? How? Nigerian Ports Authority NPA came up with a system called private park owners. If you log into the Eto app, you wouldn’t see those private people. Why? They are invisible, running behind. So, most of their operations, we don’t see what is happening.  For instance, my profile was blocked by Nigerian Ports Authority NPA for three weeks over some sharp practices allegedly perpetrated by my boys in charge of the profile. I decided to accept my punishment for the wrongdoing and I parked my truck for three weeks. Same things Nigerian Ports Authority NPA complained about my profile then happened with other park owners and within 72 hours their park line was opened to them. Just for corruption, they will disallow the normal line from moving. There is a place called Niger in Apapa, most times at night, they collect bribes. They collect this in many points. They will choke the line and frustrate drivers.

“Where they make money becomes their priorities while our drivers will be choked. As truck owner, we give them feeding money, gas topping money and you still risk losing your truck tools like jack, battery etc.  The worst thing is when you are being turned you have to give driver money for double gas. When Mr. President visited Apapa recently and they turned about 200 trucks. Each of them spent at least #20,000 because Mr. President was coming. Nigerian Ports Authority NPA didn’t inform us. We are transporters and truckers. They said we can come to the port and then turned the trucks. You can imagine the cost of 20k by 200 trucks. The Strange thing is that they are quick to change tactics and hide once we report and people are sent to check. They have mastered the art of concealing their acts. We are the grassroots and we just want things to change.”

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NARTO Apapa Chairman Comrade Wale Oladehinde added: “We thought the ETO was introduced to solve our problem but no, it is now adding to our problem. Somebody will have a call-up and will spend more than three months at the Lilypond Terminal whereas some people are using illegal ETO for call-ups.

“We want government to come to our aid and stop illegal extortion of our members, illegal towing of our trucks in the name of abandoned vehicles, and sanity in Apapa Tin can axis. We praised the efforts of the Governor. But some people sent by government are sabotaging his efforts because of monetary gains. We have been paying money through our noses to access the ports. We were promised that eto will fix all issues. But some people have formed illegal eto with the collaboration of Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, Police and Lagos government officials. People now pay over 150k to access the ports to load. Exports are on the road but some people come at night collect huge bribes and allow those who paid to access the ports.

Ibrahim Lawal – Vice Chairman, Lagos NARTO

I am a truck owner. When Nigerian Ports Authority NPA and government worked together, things worked. Despite promises before Eto came, it created problems. We first go to Ojota and to lillypond we spend over a month in Lilly pond with the loaded trucks. They are supposed to call us from Lilly pond to Apapa but they will not, while some people will pay bribe and those are the ones they will be calling in. I have a truck that has spent three months now waiting to access the port at the Lilly pond. It was loaded with cashew. You can imagine the loss. Our clients refused to pay demurrage leaving us to shoulder the responsibility alone.  For no just cause, they will not grant you right to access. They simply ensure they allow only those who pay outrageous amount as bribe. Once you don’t, you will queue for months. For example, official rate on Eto app per truck is #35,000 which is paid through the bank but to get access you will bribe with extra #150,000.  We have written the government three times on these issues before now.

When the President visited Apapa we were turned back and we parked around Flour Mill. We were queried for not returning to Lilly pond. Our trucks were seized and we paid #150,000 to the task force involving different security formations. After we returned to Sanya, they still came and towed our vehicles away. Almost 40 trucks were seized and are still at Alausa. They did same at Okota. The government who sent them to the port doesn’t know the atrocities they are committing at the ports. That’s why we are here to expose them to government. Many people have sold their trucks because of these issues. When Lagos intervened things worked till everything scattered again. The terminal operators also load very few trucks just to create avenue for corruption. They are part of the big problem.

Fatai Raheem, NARTO Member, Transport Owner

On May 27, we parked our trucks at the trailer park garage in Apapa at warehouse road. Task Force broke into the park with the claims that the trucks were abandoned. They drove our trucks away. There are many task force units at the Port and they operate with impunity. Nobody can clearly pinpoint who is who officially. When lines don’t move, they just come with hoodlums and seize control of any trucks unchecked.

They drove 5 of our trucks away from the warehouse. On their way at Area B Customs stopped them. When they could not explain the content of the trucks which were for exports, customs seized the trucks and took them to their office in Ikorodu. as exports trucks, the seal should not be broken but Customs broke the seal for physical examination following which the task force later took the trucks to Oshodi where we were forced to pay #400,000 on each of the 5 trucks.

I have lodged complaints to my union and they helped us slashed the outrageous bribe to #250,000 per truck. These guys are called Abandoned Vehicle task force and they just seize people’s property forcefully from your parking lot claiming it has been abandoned. The trucks were in the port premises how can you call that abandoned? He asked. Nigerian Ports Authority NPA are even the instigators of problems from one system to another without solutions. Government should help us reduce the task force.

Sunny Yakubu, Truck owner 

I am about to pay the sum of #120k to the Abandoned vehicle task force. Just last week, my driver called me that his hose pulled out around 2am in Surulere enroute Apapa. Some hoodlums came out requesting for money before he could repair the vehicle. I appealed to them on phone and pleaded that they accept the sum of #5,000 from the driver and they obliged. Just as the driver finished fixing, the obnoxious abandoned vehicle task force emerged from nowhere in their LASTMA truck. They forcefully seized the vehicle and drove it to their office. I pleaded with him to collect #20k that it was an empty truck but he refused. Now they are asking me to pay #120,000 for fine for failing to bribe him earlier with #100,000. This is our experience.