Agents, Truckers Protest Vindicates Maritime Journalists

The recent protest by licensed customs agents, freight forwarders and truck drivers over the poor state of the port access roads have vindicated maritime journalists who consistently brought the ills in the maritime industry to the fore.

It is on record that for three days running penultimate month, the nation’s seaports in the Lagos area that account for at least 65 per cent of cargo traffic and port revenue in the country were paralysed following a strike action embarked upon by port users. Apart from the high prices, poor services by service providers, the port users were protesting the deplorable state of the roads in and around Apapa, Lagos.

Besides members of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), and the Amalgamation of Trucking Associations, the organized private sector under the auspices of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), also protested the ills in the nation’s seaports, airports and international borders.

They stated that apart from the untold hardship the traffic gridlock in Apapa causes to business, they disclosed that they have continued to record huge losses due to frequent fall of cargo-laden trucks as a result of the collapsed roads.

Journalists covering the maritime industry under the auspices of the Maritime Journalists Association of Nigeria (MAJAN) had on December 8, 2016 protested the deplorable state of the Apapa roads and the resultant gridlock. Uncomfortable with the perennial Apapa gridlock which had remained unresolved for over ten years, MAJAN had embarked on the peaceful protest to draw the attention of the of authorities to the menace which has cost the country trillions of naira in revenue.

Specifically, MAJAN, whose membership is drawn from the print and electronic media, began the protest from Mile 2 and sang solidarity songs to show its disapproval of the development that has taken a huge toll on the country both financially and materially.