Trouble is currently brewing at Nigeria’s first deep seaport in Lekki following the failure of many truckers to pass or make themselves available for the ongoing truck registration process at Lekki Port.
Checks by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the container terminal operator at Lekki Port, the Lekki Freeport Terminal, has been registering trucks before allowing entry into the deep seaport facility.
However, while many trucks have been registered, some truckers accused the terminal operator of bias in the manner of registration.
Some truckers, who claimed to be members of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), said, “The Lekki Port Truck registration demands for too many documents before a trucker is registered.
“Some drivers have issues with their National Identification Numbers (NIN) and automatically fail the Lekki Port Truck registration process. Aside from NIN, if your truck belongs to a one-man owner structure, the scrutiny is much.
“Many of our members have failed the truck registration process at Lekki Port and have not been able to enter the port to carry out businesses inside the terminal.
“If the situation persists, we will escalate to the necessary quarters for action. Most of the trucks carrying cargoes at Lekki Port belong to big transportation companies. Individuals who own one or two trucks have struggled to access the ports to carry out containers.”
Giving details of its truck registration process, Lekki Freeport Terminal, in a post on its social media handles recently, said, “At Lekki Freeport Terminal, we take pride in providing superior customer service, thus, we conduct on-site and off-site registrations to make it simpler for drivers and trucks to be registered anywhere.
“In an off-site registration, our team comes to your location to register you. The driver registration process is linked to our vehicle booking system, which supports our automated gate procedure at the terminal.
“Driver registration is essential to any transport system as it ensures that only qualified and specific individuals are permitted to operate vehicles on public roads.
“The purpose of driver registration is to grant access to our terminal whenever a driver has business at the terminal.”
