Truck owners under the aegis of the Independent Truck Owners Association (ITOA) have pledged to key into the ongoing exercise of minimum standard of trucks being implemented by the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA).
Speaking with SHIPS & PORTS DAILY at the end of a closed door meeting held with the General Manager of NPA Western Ports, Chief Michael Ajayi, Chairperson of the association, Mrs. Folake George said the association would support NPA to ensure the successful implementation of the exercise adding that it was not opposed to the collection of N10, 000 entry permits for trucks.
“The meeting is called to sensitize us and we have given our own part of the commitment that we are ready to work with NPA and we are ready to register our trucks to be up to the minimum standards. We don’t want any hiccup for our operation.
“I know if my trucks go out of Lagos to any other port, they pay to enter into the port. So if NPA say they have logistics they want to handle and they want people to register their truck for N10, 000 for one year, I don’t see it as being over burdened, so we are not against it. We want to curtail the bag eggs in the industry and I don’t think this issue of payment should cause any rift,” she said.
She said NPA had also promised to assist in seeing that truck owners were not in any way subjected to extortion or harassed at the port after certification of their trucks.
Speaking earlier, Ajayi said the meeting, which was called at the instance of the association, was to enlighten and sensitize its members on the ongoing truck certification exercise.
He said, “The meeting was called at the instance of the independent fleet owners. They wanted us to educate them and for us to give them the outline of what we intend to do, how we want to achieve it and how they can key into the minimum standardization process policy of NPA.
“Having discussed with them, they said we should go ahead that they were ready to key into the program and that the payment of N10,000 is not a challenge to them and they want the new standard implemented.”
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