The deadline for truck certification embarked upon by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has been extended by three weeks to 21 March 2015, according to NPA Western Ports General Manager, Chief Kayode Ajayi.
The exercise, which commenced on February 1 was originally billed to end on February 29.
Chief Ajayi told SHIPS & PORTS DAILY on Friday that the exercise was embarked upon to ensure that only roadworthy trucks are allowed to operate at the nation’s seaports.
He said so far, the turn out of truck operators for the registration and certification had been impressive.
“All along, we have tried to enforce minimum standards and roadworthiness of these trucks. We called a meeting a few days ago with all the truckers association, the NARTO, the AMATO, the RTEAN, JCOST and the independent fleet owners. We brought them to a meeting and we also talked to them on the need to put their vehicles in order,” Ajayi told SHIPS & PORTS DAILY at the commencement of the certification and registration exercise.
On the standards NPA expects the truck operators to maintain, he said, “One, the twist locks that ensures the stability of the containers on your truck must be in order. If the twist locks are not in order, any cargo will fall off the truck, so the twist locks must be in order.
“The brake system must be functional. The horn, the tyres must be one hundred percent in order and they must have spare tyres. The springs must be in order.
“We are going to check the exhaust system to ensure it is in conformity with the minimum standard of emission. Along the line, we will be checking the sensibility of the drivers entering the port. We don’t want a situation where the drivers take “paraga” before they can operate.
“They will be asked to take a breath test for alcohol. Those are the things we are putting in place now to ensure that there is safety. We have also educated and informed their leaders to find a way of sanctioning their drivers apart from enlightening them, on how to maintain minimum standards in the usage of their trucks.”
He said the three-week extension was to ensure that all compliant trucks are duly certified, registered and issued with relevant stickers to enable them access the ports.
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