NARTO raises alarm over extortion at seaport gates

THE Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has accused security officials at the two seaports entry gates in Lagos of extortion.

The chairman, Alaba Unit of NARTO, Rasheed Iyanda, alleged that extortion by security men at Western ports of Tin-Can Island Ports and Lagos Ports Complex (LPC) gates has become worrying since the beginning of the year.

Iyanda who sought the intervention of his association’s national leadership on the matter said the growing extortion at the port gates has made business unprofitable for truck owners.

“One great challenge we have at the port is when we have document to load cargoes at the ports, security personnel collect as much as N10, 000 before we could be allowed into the ports for loading.

“We implore both state and national executives of the association to come to our aid in stopping the extortion and I believe they will do something about it,” Iyanda explained to newsmen in Lagos recently.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State branch chairman of the NARTO, Alhaji Sikiru Kaka, has said that apart from government, the transport sector is the highest employer of labour in Nigeria.

Kaka said currently, the association is representing the interest of Nigerian transporters in the West African Road Transport Union (WARTU) so as to integrate Nigerian transporters into the mainstream of economic development of the sub region.

He also implored members to eschew violence and ensure maximum cooperation and excellent working relationship with road traffic law enforcement agencies despite the enormous challenges confronting them in the daily running of their businesses.