Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has strengthened its collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to ensure safety and security of haulage operations at ports in a bid to reduce cost of doing business.
The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of NSC, Mr Pius Akutah, said this during a day sensitisation on “Safe to Load on All Nigerian Roads” organised by NSC and FRSC in Lagos on Wednesday.
The NSC boss said that safety was more than a slogan, saying that it was a clarion call to action for the haulage operators to be more committed in ensuring that every vehicle set out on highways was roadworthy.
He mentioned the need to ensure that all drivers were qualified and cargoes were properly loaded, secured and transported to the end users.
Akutah reiterated the council’s interest in promoting efficient and cost effective movement of cargo from origin to destination.
The Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, said the issue of extortion and destruction of trucks by hoodlums should be unanimously addressed.
Mohammed said that the truck industry should be cleaner and more attractive for investors to invest and reap dividends of their investment.
He said that the haulage business was contributing to the economic development of the country, stressing the need to collaborate to bring the issue forward to the relevant authorities such as the office of the National Security Adviser.
The corps marshal said that a spacious and cleaner environment would attract more investors into haulage business.
The Director, Inland Transport Services Department of NSC, Mrs Ify Okolue, said the incessant road crashes that Nigerians experienced necessitated the need to put in place adequate measures to checkmate the scourge.
Okolue said that the sensitisation was the outcome of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two agencies in November 2017.
“The MoU states among other things that the two agencies shall engage in collaborative enlightenment for truck owners, drivers and the general public in a view to ensuring safety of lives and cargoes in transit under the Road Transport Safety Standardisation Scheme (RTSSS).
“The concept of RTSSS is meant to regulate road transport, ensure safe and standardised fleet transport operations and entrench culture of safety consciousness in organisations and companies with fleet of vehicles to minimise loss of lives and property,” Okolue said.
In his contribution, Assistant Corps Marshal, ACM Hyginus Omeje, said that electronic call-up system required inter- agencies collaboration for successful operation at the ports.
He said that there was need for all the agencies in the haulage supply chain to encourage safety of the operators to reduce accident and loss of property.
Speaking earlier, the Secretary General, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Muhammed Sani, sought NSC’s support over incessant attacks of their drivers and trucks by hoodlums.
Sani said that between January and August 2024, about six fatal accidents were induced by hoodlums on the port access roads.
“Shippers’ Council should assist truck owners to address insecurity against drivers in delivering cargoes to owners’ warehouses. State and non-state actors were seen vandalising our trucks.
“Sometime, the hoodlums also smashed our windscreens and in most cases destroying our truck-braking system thereby leading to crashes just to extort the drivers.
“Between January and August 2024, over six trucks fell, leading to loss of several billions of naira.
“We need the support of NSC and other regulatory agencies because the sector is eroding under the activities of hoodlums disrupting the ease of doing business at the ports,” Sani said.
He said that constant operations of the hoodlums were threats to Nigerian economy and the haulage business, saying that early interventions would be better for the sector. (NAN)
