Truck Drivers Lament Extortion At Apapa Port

TRUCK drivers who are being extorted at the Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports have cried out for government intervention.

Truck drivers plying the Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports in Lagos are made to compulsorily pay an illegal fee of N11,000 per truck by officials of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Truck Transit Park (TTP) before they are allowed into the port, a truck operator, Ridwan revealed.

Ridwan said, “The money is collected dubiously into an account allegedly operated by TTP. 

“The illegal collection, which reportedly amounts to more than N12 million per day, is shared among the corrupt NPA and TTP officials as well as security officers deployed to manage traffic on the busy port access roads.

The illegal collection, which is done using a POS machine, would probably be running into Billions of naira, a practice that has been going on over the past seven months when the electronic call-up system for trucks started.

Ridwan said “truck drivers extorted from almost all angles at the port, customs officials short change the nation, police officers go about with POS machines forcing truck drivers to part with money before they are allowed into the port.

Barr. Mike Umonnan commenting on the situation said “there is serious corruption at the port.”

Recall that the House of Representative Committee on Finance led by Hon. James Faleke recently told the Comptroller General of Customs that N1.33 billion is too small a revenue target for the agency.

Reacting to this Umonnan said ” Customs has what it takes to make trillions of naira into the government coffers if they are willing to do the needful.

He said “all loopholes should be blocked, meaning that customs officials at the port should encourage importers to pay the actual amount they ought to pay for imported goods.