A container terminal in Apapa Port, Lagos.

The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria CRFFN, Nigeria Customs Service, shipping lines, port concessionaires and other government agencies boycotted a two- day workshop organised by the Compliance Team of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders NAGAFF.

Meanwhile, stakeholders have called on Truck Transit Park TTP Ltd., providers of the Truck Electronic Call- System platform to fine tune the operations of the traffic management systems to curtail the influx of trucks and other articulated vehicles trying to access the port terminals to the roads.

The workshop with the theme: “Sustainable Synergy with the Nigeria Customs Service, Shipping Companies, Terminal Operators, Freight Forwarders and other Stakeholders”, was designed to bridge the information and communication between the government agencies, port service providers and users as well as other stakeholders with a view.to fostering synergy among stakeholders by addressing the myriads of operational challenges plaguing the seaport industry.

With the exception of Maersk Line, other shipping firms including MSC, COSCO, Zim, Hull Blyt, among others, terminal operators, and even government agencies, who were allegedly duly informed, decided to stay away, to what stakeholders described as an attempt to retain the old order characterised by inefficiency, arbitrary imposition of levies and fees, which they said is not in the overall interest of the Nigerian nation and its citizens.

Speaking in an opening remarks at the event, Secretary of the Team, Barth Okeke, who represented the national Chairman, Alhaji Tanko Ibrahim, noted that it was a rude shock that the various service providers, government agencies and even the CRFFN, which directly regulates the freight forwarders were conspicuously absent at the two-day event.

According to him, it is the government agencies, shipping companies and port terminal operators that should undertake the initiative of organising such workshops and seminars that would provide a platforms for the stakeholders to come together to discuss and seek explanations on crucial operational issues and challenges in order to boost efficiency at the seaports.

A highpoint of the event was presentation by various stakeholder organisations and groups including Truck Transit Park TTP Ltd., providers of the Truck Electronic Call- System, codenamed ‘eto’, the Association of Maritime Truck Owners AMATO and other freight forwarders.

Head of operations of the TTP, Irabo Akunoma, who made a presentation to the stakeholders on the operational systems, noted that most of the hitches experienced in the management of traffic using the eto platform were caused by the truck drivers.

He disclosed that though some of the truck owners and drivers have been fast in understanding and adapting to the ‘eto’ operations, however noted that some of them try to shortchange they systems by either exposing their ticket numbers, which causes confusion in such scenarios.

Chairman of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners AMATO, Chief Remi Ogungbemi, while speaking the event, admonished the operators of the ‘eto’ platform to take urgent steps to ensure the removal of the long queues on the port access roads, pledging to liaise with the electronic traffic management company to come up with ways to address the challenges if their wished.

On rickety trucks, many of which break down and litter the roads, Ogungbemi blamed the freight forwarders who patronise them in a bid to save cost. He however disclosed that some of the trucks become rickety due to the activities of touts and Local Government officials, who destroy the body parts of the vehicles in a bid to extort them.