Skeletal Activities At Seaports As Clearing Agents, Truck Owners Protest Economic Hardship

Despite assurance by the Customs Area Controller (CAC), Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), that the seaports will be opened to business, majority of the clearing agents, truckers operating at the Apapa and Tin-Can Island seaports stayed away from work

LEADERSHIP reports that the Apapa Port CAC, Compt. Babatunde Olomu, on Tuesday, reassured port users that activities of the Service would continue uninterrupted despite an impending nationwide protest

Olomu stated that Customs officers attached to the command at the port and all terminals under his watch shall be available to discharge their usual functions and support in facilitating all legitimate trade within their purview.

However, speaking to LEADERSHIP, the public relations officer, Apapa Command, Usman Abubakar, said economic activities are currently ongoing at various terminals in the Apapa port as well as the command but it’s skeletal.

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According to Abubakar, “economic activities are ongoing but skeletal,” he stated.

Also speaking, the PRO, Tin-Can Island command of the service, Ngozi Okwara, also confirmed economic activities at the port are ongoing.

Okwara, also confirmed that the activities are skeletal as a larger number of clearing agents stayed away from work.

However, an official of a new generation bank at Apapa port, confirmed that banks opened for commercial and economic activities.

The officer, who craved anonymity because she’s not authorised to speak to the press, said other banks opened for business but clearing agents stayed away from work.

“We opened for business and we closed by 3pm but our bank isn’t bustling like it was yesterday because clearing agents stayed away due to the protest,” she stated.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP, clearing agents disclosed that it will be counter productive to move cargo out of the port at this time and for it to be looted.

According to the national coordinator of the Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNFFIEC), Osita Patrick Chukwu, the ports are empty as most offices are under lock and key.

Chukwu said there were not many activities at the ports because the majority of clearing agents decided to sit at home to watch the direction of the protests.

Also speaking, a truck driver, Alao Sodiq, said most of the truckers refused to put their trucks on the road because of hoodlums and touts along the port access road.

Sodiq said truckers feared that the trucks could be vandalised or the container looted by hoodlums.

“My boss said I should not leave the garage because of the fear of his truck being vandalised by touts. He also doesn’t want the goods inside the container to be looted.

When there is no protest, these area boys are destroying our trucks because of money they are collecting from us, we are watching the protest closely,” he stated.

A truck owner, Collins Ekeh, said that the truckers are in support of the protest, saying activities of hoodlums and extortionists across Lagos State  are unbearable.

He, however, called on the Lagos State Governor, Babajjde Sanwo-Olu, to address the menace.

“We use this opportunity to call on President Bola Tinubu to address the issue of touts and the illegal taxes being paid by truckers along the port access road. The unions are making life difficult for truckers. There is no avenue for growth for truck owners because no one is doing anything about it. We can’t do business in peace because the revenue is going to the hand of individuals,” he stated.