KOREDE FOGO
As festive season draw nearer, Nigerians should brace up for increase in prices of imported goods as fresh port congestion looms at the nation’s seaports.
This is because truck drivers and owners operating at the nation’s seaports are set to downtool over dilapidated Tin-can and Apapa port access roads.
Should truck drivers and owners downtools, evacuation of cargoes out of the seaports will become impossible thereby causing congestion as the ports will be filled to brim.
This will also lead to inflation as foreign shipowners will slam surcharge on cargoes destined for Lagos Ports thereby increasing the price of goods in local markets.
The truckers in a press statement made available to BUSINESSinsiderng over the weekend threaten strike at the Lagos ports saying they will withdraw their services from the seaports if the federal government fails to fix the failed portions along the Apapa and Tincan access roads.
The truckers have issued a week ultimatum from Friday, 12th November, 2021 for the government to fix the roads, which they described as death and accident traps.
Chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Chief Remi Ogungbemi the statement said the Apapa and Tin can port roads, which serves as the gate-way to the nation’s economy deserve to be given a serious and emergency attention but the roads have been abandoned to become potential accident and death traps over the years.
“Despite government allocation of resources for the repair of these roads, some strategic portions of roads in Apapa and Tincan port access roads have become death and accident traps where trucks carrying loaded containers and fuel tanks keep falling on a daily basis spilling their contents, property getting damaged, lives being lost and traffic robbers taking advantage of trucks/cars slowing down at road potholes to rob motorists at gun point and sometimes, burgle and divert containers.
“Moreover, why is it taking so long and difficult for the contractors working on these roads to complete their job despite the huge amount of money earmarked for the roads construction project by the government?
“Therefore, in response to the loss of lives, property and economic loses that we have been suffering as results of the failed portions of roads in Apapa and Tincan port access roads, we are using medium to inform the authority and general public at large that if nothing is done, even if it’s a palliative within a week starting from today, the 12th of November 2021, we would have no choice than to withdraw our services in the best interest of our national economy, security of lives and property,” he said.