The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), and the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) have issued a three-day ultimatum to the Lagos state government, threatening to withdraw their services and shut down port operations.
The action is in response to alleged indiscriminate arrests and exorbitant fines imposed by the Lagos state committee on the removal of abandoned vehicles and the special traffic management committee and enforcement team.
At a press briefing on Monday, Leye Thompson, a notable truck owner and founding President of the Council of Maritime Truck Unions and Associations (COMTUA), alleged that these committees had strayed from their initial mandate and were now being used as instruments of extortion, unfairly imposing arbitrary charges on truck operators.
“These committees were supposed to manage traffic, but instead, they have turned into self-serving entities, arresting trucks indiscriminately and imposing outrageous fines ranging from N200,000 to N400,000 per truck, which are often paid into private accounts,” Thompson alleged.
The group further accused the committees of hijacking trucks en route to the ports, delaying cargo movement, and creating artificial bottlenecks that significantly impact the ease of doing business at the ports.
They called on the state government to immediately dissolve the committees and release all impounded trucks unconditionally, warning that failure to comply by Wednesday, February 26, 2025, would result in a statewide strike.
“In line with our unambiguous demand, we hereby issue this notice of a three-day ultimatum, which would expire on Wednesday, 26th February 2025. If our demands are not met, we shall embark on an industrial action and withdraw the services of all our members throughout the state,” the statement read.
The unions also recounted a violent incident that allegedly occurred on February 20, 2025, at Area B, Apapa, where they claimed that members of the enforcement committees, in collaboration with street urchins, attacked truck drivers and haulage operators.
According to them, one trucker sustained grievous injuries and remains hospitalised, with the case currently under police investigation at the Area B Police Station.
Another incident, they cited occurred, in the early hours of February 23, 2025, when members of the Abandoned Vehicle Committee allegedly stormed the Unity Bonded Terminal and impounded over 100 trucks, labelling them as abandoned vehicles.
“We do not understand why these committees focus solely on maritime truckers operating along the Apapa Port access roads and the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.
It appears there is a deliberate effort to cripple port operations and sabotage the businesses of legitimate stakeholders who contribute significantly to Nigeria’s GDP,” the unions stated.
The groups also noted that the committees’ actions were causing severe financial losses to truckers and importers, forcing factories and businesses to suspend operations due to the inability to receive imported materials.
President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, voiced his support for the planned strike, stating that the union had a vested interest in the issue due to its haulage district.
He said: “I want to use this medium to appeal to the two port managers to wake up to the action that is about to take place. If after three days nothing is done, there will be collaboration in support of the strike actions.
“Some of our members are truckers and some of them have been suffering the fate. I also sit as the Deputy President of NLC and we are concerned about the activities of the truckers on the road.”
“We are going to support them if nothing is done after three days. The port managers and NPA should stand up and correct the action that is about to cripple the activities of the port,” Adeyanju added.
The unions warned that the alleged undue interference with truck movement is sabotaging the nation’s trade operations and urged the authorities to take immediate action to prevent disruptions that could cripple the maritime sector.
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