By Dipo Olowookere
Shipping companies and terminal operators in the country have been urged to remember the agreement they had with the federal government on the usage of holding bays.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) warned that failure to comply with the agreement could lead to sanctions.
This reminder followed the grounding of the Apapa area of Lagos State as a result of the strike action embarked upon by tanker drivers.
Assistant General Manager (AGM), Corporate and Strategic Communication of NPA, Mr Isah Suwaid, said in a statement that government has launched an investigation into the level of compliance or non-compliance to the agreements reached between the authority, shipping companies and terminal operators.
In November 2017, the NPA, shipping companies and terminal operators agreed to mandate operators to provide holding bays for their trucks and containers through the newly-adopted call-up system.
The resolution reached at the end of the meeting between the Managing Director of NPA, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, and truck drivers.
“These were part of the resolutions adopted at the end of two meetings between the Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman, and the leadership of truck drivers and the Nigerian Maritime Workers Union (MWUN) in response to recent protests by truck drivers at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) and Tin Can Island Port (TCIP),” he said.
