The trucking sector of Nigeria’s maritime industry is now firmly controlled by an unidentified cabal, further deepening unethical practices within the trucking community.
Speaking to reporters on the development, Adeshina Ajibola, Head , Technical Department of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners, AMATO, said that transparency and accountability are some of the major issues plaguing the sector adding most times the enemies of the industry are also within the system.
Ajibola also said automation of the entire trucking sub-sectors of the maritime industry will not checkmate the growing influence of the cabal, it will also make every trucker fall in line.
He explained that with an evacuation call up costing up N250,000 per truck and a tracker with 45 trucks will rake in a total of = N11,250,000 on a daily basis.
He said:”One of the problems I have with this, is the inability to transparently and accountably link these top guns to the volume of job they have been consigned to move for a certain kind of client to give them such status as is the practice in some developed countries?
“This notwithstanding, if the suggested automation is put in place, there may be little or no need for this kind of arrangement as the efficiency of the system would ensure that all who have either been engaged on spot hire terms or contract would be able to reasonably predict when they would be scheduled to get into the port to pick the cargo they have been consigned to move for their clients.
“What this Cartels are doing is that they don’t even need to deploy their trucks for those who have to make millions on a daily basis.
“Recently, I was told what a cartel makes which is as follows: Evacuation call-up sold= 250,000No of Trucks pushed into the port daily = 45 Daily cash made= N250,000 x 45 = N11,250,000
“If he does this for say 20 days in a month he makes N11,250,000*20=N225,000,000
Now to make the above amount as a truck owner assuming you have 45 trucks, it means you need to make a net profit of N5,000,000.
“With the above, do you now understand why the vested interest is firmly rooted and resisting the call for full automation.
Sooner or later the cartel would have so much money and clout to buy their way and silence almost all!
“I only pity the average trucker that is used as a pawn in the rat race of suffering and smiling. God and posterity would judge all on this matter.
“If this full automation is not birthed, no matter how they try to vary the SOP the loopholes would be there for the taking.
“I am not one of the lots that can be fooled. Yes, we could quickly improvise, but must in earnest scale up the quasi automation we currently have to give everyone a level playing field.”
Similarly, the President of the Council of Maritime Unions and Associations (COMTUA), Mr. Yinka Aroyewun, stated that the call-up system managed by Truck Transit Parks Limited on behalf of the Nigerian Ports Authority operates without human interference, making it susceptible to manipulation and corruption.
Aroyewun also said that no truck owner should receive preferential treatment under any circumstances, adding that the call-up system has completely collapsed.
He said:”We do not need anybody to let know that the call up system has never worked and it will not work . If you say something is a queueing system , devoid of human interference, then there is no need to give preferential treatment to any body under a y identity.
“How we came about evacuation, it is to satisfy some people and to make it easier for them to move their trucks to terminals on a preferential basis.
‘How did we come about military trucks, it is still the same preference . So the call up system has completely collapsed. The only thing they are doing now is to ensure that anybody that goes into the ports goes through them.
“They do on their terms to extent that call up ticket is now sold for between N250,000 and N300,000. I can tell you that for free because it has been happening in the last one month.
“That was why we said we will not be part of the proposed strike because the strike is targeted at the wrong body. The enforcement team of Lagos State Government comes to arrest vehicles that are blocking the roads, working against the time belt and not having genuine calls up ticket
“So if the enforcement team come and they are still seeing vehicles to arrest, it means the call up system is not working and we should rather address the call up system.
“What happened to the garage where over 150 fake number plates were found, what is the outcome of the investigation , who has sanctioned , nobody.
“So the cabal has actually hijacked the system that was not working to further enrich themselves .”
