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• Rolls out SOP for barge operators
Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) has opposed illegal stripping of containers along access roads, threatening punishment for perpetrators.
The Managing Director, Mohammed Bello-Koko, gave the warning when he paid an unscheduled visit to Tincan Island Port at the weekend, where he inspected designated container stripping yards and port access roads to ensure trucks are not loitering.
He cautioned that errant truckers risk being delisted from the Electronic Call-up System (ETO) platform, managed by Truck Transit Park (TTP) Limited.
He said NPA had rolled out Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for barge operators, adding that the procedure would serve as a guideline for all operators.
On concerns relating to container stripping, also known as devanning, Bello- Koko stressed that the act constitutes a menace when undertaken outside designated yards, as it provides a platform for trucks loitering around the port’s access roads and results in traffic disruptions and attendant chaos.
He pledged that his organisation would intensify vigilance to check the unsavoury development.
Addressing the scarcity in some of the stripping yards, the NPA boss acknowledged the impact of global economic upheavals on cargo flow, restating that low business downturn could not justify illegality.
He hinted that proposals for well-equipped stripping yards were receiving prompt attention, signalling a shift from illegal roadside stripping.
Regarding sustainability of the measures, the chief executive informed that NPA had collaborated with other agencies and the Lagos State government to ensure that unhealthy practices no longer take place along the port access roads.
Bello-Koko said such unannounced visits would become more frequent, followed by regular stakeholder engagements to continuously improve seamless operations of the ETO platform.
He warned that stripping yards that violate the operational rules would face temporal shutdowns for first time offenders, and possibility of non-renewal of land leases for recalcitrant offenders.
The NPA helmsman noted that the stringent measures are geared at maintaining orderliness and safety within the port environment.
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