The President, Association of Maritime Truck Owners, Chief Remi Ogungbemi, has said that different cabals and cartels have been established to control and determine who can have access to the Lagos ports.
He added that it is only those that belong to these groups that have preferential access to the ports and can break through the tight traffic.
The AMARTO boss further revealed that some stakeholders in the port services industry are not perturbed about the present traffic chaos, noting that many truckers are equally benefiting from the ugly situation.
He stated: “Different cabals and cartels have been formed and if you don’t belong to any recognized group, your truck cannot go through to the ports.
“Many people are enjoying what is going on because they are benefitting in one way or the other, but I must say that I don’t understand this type of benefits because most people are suffering, especially the drivers. We are not together; some are having it good while some are having it bad”.
Ogungbemi also faulted the efforts of Presidential Task Team, PTT, noting that they lacked useful ideas that will help in salvaging the traffic situation.
He, however, called on the Federal Government, as well as all the regulatory agencies in the maritime sector to sit up and carry out their designated roles in order to avert the looming danger.
“The Presidential task team has tried but I must tell you they have overstayed their usefulness and the earlier the authority looked for an alternative, the better because things are getting worse. No other country will come and salvage it for us; it is we that will do it.
“It is time we call on the approved regulators of the ports, both technical and economic regulators, to wake up from their slumber to take up their responsibilities to see how to regulate the system because things are getting out of hands”, he said.
