Crowd control: Clearing agents appeal to seaport operator

Despite the lull in the importation of vehicles into the country through the seaports, clearing agents at the Ports & Terminal Multi-services Ltd (PTML) off dock terminal in Mile 2, along the Apapa Oshodi expressway have appealed to the terminal operator to put in place measures in ensuring that the crowd outside the terminal are properly controlled.

The operators lamented that the uncontrollable presence of persons at the off dock facility poses a major threat to operational activities of the concessionaire, stressing the need for a perimeter fencing of the facility.

Coordinator, Presidential Monitoring Task Force of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents ANLCA-PTML Chapter; Alhaji Kayode Amoni said that the off-dock terminal remains a volatile area for clearance of vehicles due to uncontrollable crowding.

“We have been in talks with management of PTML on the need to control the crowd at the Mile 2 terminal where we clear some of the imported vehicles, but they gave us some reasons they are yet to do something about it,” he said.

He added that the Lagos State government is yet to give approval for the concessionaire to erect structures to control human traffic at the off dock terminal.

He noted that 50 per cent of persons present at the outer terminal are not clearing agents or freight forwarders.

The ANLCA stalwart, however, called on management of the terminal to fence the outer part of the terminal, saying that it will serve as a short term measures for controlling the crowd.

“Fencing of the outer part of the terminal will help in controlling the crowd. Some people do not have any business at the outer terminal but it is left for the terminal operator to put in place measures to know who is supposed to be present there because it is a threat to our business.

“We don’t know who is who here and we cannot jump at people to ask such questions to know why they are here. Many of them are not agents and the access card is just to gain entrance to the terminal, but what about the people who are outside the terminal who takes care of them,” he lamented.

Alhaji Amoni said that the crowd inside the terminal is always orderly, but the problem they are faced with is the outer part of the terminal which is very close to the chaotic road where traffic gridlock is always present.