Truck drivers operating around the Dockyard – Apapa axis have accused official of the Nigerian Navy of creating illegal truck parks with which they use to extort drivers coming into Dockyard road to load products

Speaking to Vanguard on the development, Bashiru Olarenwaju, a truck driver said that said that it has been discovered that some Transport Unions in connivance with the Nigerian Navy has perfected ways of extorting tanker drivers that come to load products adding that drivers that are duly called into truck parks for onward movement to loading bays, are not called to load.

Olarenwaju also said that tanker drivers who hang around on the road are that ones that are allowed and called in to load after monies between camp Boys deployed by officials of the Nigerian Navy and drivers must have exchanged hands.

“The situation has become very frustrating as authorized drivers end up spending more than one in some of these parks before they allowed and called into the loading Bays to load while these illegal drivers get quick and easy access into the bays to load.

“We end up spending more money paying demurrage and most times this affects our profit margin.”

Similarly, another driver, Mr. Anthony Inno, said that he has been inside the park in the last five days and that his truck has not moved an inch due to long queue of truck scheduled to go into the loading bays.

The cause of the delay is caused by the arrangement between the Nigerian Navy and the Transport Union.

“I have been in the last five days, I have been in this very park for five days now and I have not moved an inch. I have not had a proper sleep in the last five because I have to be on the queue.

“The cause of this whole thing is the wrong arrangement between the Navy and the Union. We are charged before we enter the Truck Park and we also pay Navy before we are allowed to go into loading Bays to load.“ Inno stated.

An official of one of the Truck Parks who did not want the name of his company mentioned said that earlier in the month, one of their senior management staff (name withheld) was injured by an official of the Nigerian Navy for daring to point out their wrong.

The Truck Park official also said that all the Navy care about is the monies they get from the drivers, adding that sometimes the drivers part with as much as N20,000, N25,000 and as much as N50,000.

The drivers at different accused a particular female Naval Officer simply called Sub-Lieutenant Adeyinka, the Second in Command at the ‘Open OPMESA Camp’ was accused of breaking the windscreen and side mirrors of their trucks.

He explained that most times, the Navy knows that they get nothing from trucks that go a proper call up process and as such they (Navy) only deal with trucks that are processed to go the loading bays because they stand to gain from this category of drivers.

An official of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, who refused to give his name also said that the damage done to trucks belonging to members of PTD cannot be quantified adding that sometimes these drivers are also beaten up by these Naval officials.

When Vanguard visited to open OPMESA Camp, our correspondent met Sub-Lieutenant Adeyinka who said she could talk to our Correspondent because as she has bosses she reports to and directed Vanguard to a higher authority.

Speaking in defense of the Navy, Information Officer of the Western Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Commander Edward Yeibo said that the truck drivers have become uncontrollable adding that the drivers are happy with the fact sanity is returning to that part of the port access road.

Yeibo however denied the allegation that officials of the Nigerian Navy were involved in any form of extortion of tanker drivers saying that “officials of the Nigerian Navy cannot extort anybody, they cannot do that.”

He said: “There are other security agencies involved in the management of traffic in and around Apapa, the Nigerian Navy is not the only arm of government involved traffic management at the part of the road.”