Group kicks as Shippers’ Council releases truck price benchmark

Tayo Oladipupo

A group of truck owners under the aegis of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has rejected the new price template recently released by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) as benchmark of charges for transporting cargoes from the seaports to any part of Lagos and the country in general.

The association said the template was not realistic because of the economic reality in the country as well as the decayed state of port infrastructure.

Abdullahi Inuwa, the Lagos State Vice Chairman, Dry Cargo of NARTO, Abdullahi Inuwa in a chat with newsmen in Lagos said that although the template as released by NSC was what they submitted to it about eight months ago but was quick to add that the charges as contained therein were no longer feasible.

He said, “Even the template that they brought out, was part of what we presented to them for more than eight months! We even thought that it was a forgotten issue not knowing that they had been going round to take inventory of operational modalities attached to the charges before they summoned the meeting. Even at that meeting, we were there.

“We have agreed that we are going back because during the time we made that submission, about eight months ago, things were not as bad as they are now; even they themselves have seen it. They have seen that what is now happening has tripled than what it used to be.

“In essence, what I am saying is that the benchmark that we submitted then is no longer feasible today except if we are operating in a normal circumstances. As I tell you, even in their findings, there are other areas that were not covered especially within the port axis, like our spending on the task forces and the community leaders were not covered. The template can only work in a conducive working environment. However, they have come out with a very fine, fantastic template”.

Giving insight to what NSC proposed in their new template, Abdullahi said,” The template is in different categories, we have the sided trucks that are carrying 30 tons and we have the 20ft container and 40ft container. I think in the case of the 30 tons, they fixed it at N100,000 from the port to anywhere within Lagos, the 20ft is at N110,000, then the 40ft is N130,000. But before now, even we have made an increment because of some other miscellaneous expenses on the road which even the consignees have been abiding by. We have zone 1, zone 2 and zone 3 because of the nature of the areas. Zone 1 comprises from the port to Agboju, Amuwo-odofin, Ilupeju, Iddo and surroundings, zone 2 comprises anything after Volkswagen, Okokomaiko, Agege, Ikorodu and you have zone 3 which includes Lekki Free Zone area, Agbara, Epe and so on.

“In the benchmark we submitted, zone1 is N140, 000, zone 2 is N160, 000 and zone 3 is N180, 000 for the sided trucks. For 20ft and 40ft containers, I don’t have them off hand”.

On whether they had concluded their consultations and what they would be taking back to NSC as their position, the NARTO Vice Chairman said, “We are almost through, we are trying to adjust some areas, remember I mentioned miscellaneous which is what we are trying to accommodate in that adjustment which we have already. It is those miscellaneous that we are trying to adjust and forward to them”.