A maritime expert, Lukman Shittu, has urged maritime truck operators to support the forthcoming Ports Road Clearance Operations by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), scheduled to commence on Thursday, May 14.
The Chairman of the Lagos State Truck and Cargo Operators Committee (LASTCOC) made the call on Monday during a meeting with PEBEC officials ahead of the exercise.
Shittu described the operation as a welcome development aimed at promoting ease of doing business and restoring traffic sanity and orderliness along the port corridors.
He noted that the clearance would enable the association to tackle the persistent menace of extortion and multiple illegal checkpoints on the Apapa and Tin Can Port access roads.
The LASTCOC chairman lamented the numerous hardships faced by truckers due to incessant extortion by unauthorised personnel and other exploitative practices within the port corridors.
He assured PEBEC of LASTCOC’s full cooperation in achieving a more efficient and conducive operational environment for truckers and other maritime stakeholders.
Shittu further advised truck operators to desist from indiscriminate parking on the roads and to ensure full compliance with all operational guidelines ahead of the enforcement exercise.
He specifically directed that truckers should ensure their vehicles are duly captured on the export manifest before proceeding to the ports.
The LASTCOC boss said broken-down trucks would be immediately removed from access roads, adding that the approved single-lane arrangement must be strictly adhered to.
He urged operators to conduct themselves in an orderly manner throughout the exercise.
Shittu warned that failure to comply with the directives could attract heavy penalties and sanctions during the enforcement operation.
