Committee Of Freight Forwarders and Maritime Truck Owners (COFFAMAT), has explained that the body was not forced to suspend actions following the expiration of the 48-hour ultimatum to quit Apapa the Port access roads, handed down to the Presidential Taskforce manning the roads, rather, that it suspended action due to intelligence report received by the committee.
Recalled that worried by the alleged massive corruption, lack of Ease of Doing Business, and the acute traffic gridlock going on at the Apapa Ports access roads, COFFAMAT, had threatened to force the Presidential Task Force controlling vehicular movement on the roads out of the ports’ axis.
The committee penultimate week gave the Presidential Taskforce a 48-hour ultimatum to quit or face the withdrawal of trucks and services at the Lagos seaports.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Saturday INDEPENDENT on the outcome of the ultimatum, Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko said that intelligence gathering revealed that hoodlums planned to hijack their action and cause mayhem in Lagos.
Tanko, the National Coordinator of 100% compliance team of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) said: “Concerning the 48-hour ultimatum issued penultimate week, we later found out that there was a gang-up from some persons whom we don’t know. I gathered that they intend to capitalize on our planned withdrawal of services if the task force did not comply with our ultimatum to ferment trouble and cause confusion in the state.
“If you look at what happened during the end SARS protests, that was exactly what they intended to do from our investigation. So we decided to write letters to key places like the office of the Vice President, the Minister of Transportation, Director of the NPA, Shippers Council, Chairman Board members, Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, and that Executive Governor of Lagos State.
“As I am talking to you, those letters we have sent out, we itemized our intention and reasons for taking the step we took. Some of them have started inviting us for dialogue.
“The Lagos State Governor called us for a meeting last week. The meeting was postponed to Wednesday. The Director of NPA has invited us for a meeting. As we are talking the meeting is going on there. My Chief of Staff represented me. We have an invitation from the office of the Vice President. We will respond to the invitation which we are planning to attend next week. So the issue of the online news I read saying that NAGAFF stopped the action is wrong,” Tanko asserted.
He said NAGAFF was not the only body involved in the action, adding that the planned withdrawal of services involved a committee of freight forwarders and maritime truck owners.
“Even the freight forwarders are not only NAGAFF members. It encompasses of others.
“We have five accredited freight forwarding associations. NAGAFF is only one. The news I read, I so much doubt that it was my President that made that comment. I have much doubt and did not agree it was my president. He must have been quoted out of context.
“This is because NAGAFF is one family, we do everything together. There is nothing I do without his consent. I sent him letters, I made phone calls to him, even the visit to the Governor, we did it together. So how would I agree that our President was calling us names. I know my President. What I am doing is for the interest of freight forwarders. Everybody knows what is happening with Apapa access roads, it is not hidden. I owned three trailers. I am a freight forwarder. So I know exactly what is happening.
“Where we are charging N50,000 to N60,000 before is now N600,000 to N800,000. If you ask truck drivers and owners, they will tell you where they are spending that money.
“The 48 hours ultimatum we issued, nobody asked us to suspend it. We had an intelligence report, so we suspended it and commenced meeting the stakeholders. I believe through this meeting, we will achieve a lot,” the NAGAFF Chieftain enthused.
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