Despite Naira Scarcity, Truckers Forced To Pay Cash At Seaport Checkpoints
Fred Omotara, Lagos
Despite the cash crunch biting hard across all businesses in the country, haulage operators at the Lagos ports have lamented that they are being forced to part with cash at every extortion checkpoints along the Lagos ports access roads by different labour and trade union boys. This is even as the truckers bemoaned the effect of the cash crunch on their businesses, stating that buying diesel and maintaining their staff have been a difficult task in recent days.
Speaking with kadecommunicationng exclusively, President of the Council of Maritime Truck Unions and Associations (COMTUA), Mr. Adeyinka Aroyewun lamented that at each extortion checkpoints, if a trucker has no cash, the truck doesn’t move.
According to the COMTUA President, “The Naira scarcity has really affected haulage businesses.
“We buy gas from third parties because the petrol stations always claim they don’t have fuel. The third parties that supply us gas always insist on cash. So, we must get cash to buy gas for our trucks.
“Again, our motor boys must always have cash on them to move around because when you go to the port to pick cargoes, you won’t be allowed to pass through some checkpoints along the ports access roads if you don’t settle those union boys; and they (union boys) won’t collect transfer from you. It is either you pay cash or you won’t move an inch.
“So, we are always at the mercy of POS operators because our clients who own those cargoes that we go to the ports to pick won’t pay you cash. They make transfers into the truck owners account. How the truck owner gets cash for his motor boys to navigate through all the extortion checkpoints along the ports access roads is non of the cargo owners business.
“If you don’t part with cash, you won’t move an inch. If you try to resist those union boys, they will attack you and even destroy your truck. It’s a case of being torn in-between the devil and the deep blue sea.
“So, every day, we go to POS operators to get cash at very high charges just to make sure our boys have money on them to navigate their way through these seaport checkpoints.”