The Council of Maritime Truck Unions and Associations (COMTUA), has lamented the compromise of the Minimum Safety Standard (MSS) scheme process for trucks set by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) as trucks without requisite qualifications are allowed to ply the roads and even found with safety stickers.
The National President of COMTUA, Adeyinka Aroyewun, expressed disappointment at the process, despite the involvement of the vehicle inspection unit of the Lagos State Ministry of transportation to ensure credibility.
According to him, the process of truck inspection are not observed as promised before the commencement of the project.
He said vehicle registration numbers vehicles and vehicles without registration numbers are often registered for the safety stickers to use for call up, adding that the regime is losing its credit due to the contradiction in the standard of vehicles found in and around the ports and on the roads.
This is coming after about 20 passengers have been reportedly crushed to death by a truck laden with containers in the Ojuelegba, Ikotun, Dopemu and Oshodi axis of the state.
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while commiserating with the families of the deceased, ordered the Ministry of Transportation and the Nigeria Ports Authority to meet urgently to find a lasting solution to the menace of falling trucks.
According to a statement from the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, the governor directed that all laws governing the operations of trucks and related vehicles must be enforced with more vigour and diligence.
Meanwhile the Nigerian Ports Authority has vowed to begin full enforcement of the Minimum Safety Standards (MSS) for trucks.
In a press statement to commiserate with families of the nine victims, NPA said truck owners have resisted the stuff enforcement of the MSS.
The NPA management, however, ordered full scale investigation to ascertain the source of container linked to last Sunday accident that claimed nine lives in Lagos.
“This very sad incident further justifies the need for the full enforcement of the Minimum Safety Standards (MSS) for trucks, which the Nigerian Ports Authority has articulated enforcing, albeit with stiff resistance from some truck owners.
“The Authority is poised more than ever before, in partnership with the Lagos State government and the Federal Road Service Corps, to fully enforce these Minimum Safety Standards for trucks and impose stiffer penalties on truck drivers and owners to forestall a reoccurrence and serve as deterrence to those who operate in breach.
“As a result of the foregoing and to avoid the recurrence of these tragic incidents and truck breakdowns on the highway, the Authority will convene a broad stakeholder engagement with truck owners, terminal operators, and off-dock workers at various locations to streamline the activities of these trucks and reiterate Zero Tolerance for violations of the Minimum Safety Standards.”
“There is, however, an ongoing investigation to track the container loading port and terminal to establish a failure to adhere to best practices in articulated vehicle management. The Authority assures the general public that whoever is responsible for this breach of procedure will face the harshest sanctions.
“In order to protect against the loss of lives and properties due to these avoidable accidents, the Authority will fully enforce the minimum safety standards for trucks in all the ports, particularly in Lagos, where these needless accidents are becoming commonplace. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.” The NPA said.
NPA had in July, 2021 commenced the minimum safety standard scheme sequel to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), to stem the increasing cases of trucks break down and containers falling off articulated vehicles inside the port and on the highways, which had claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed of properties.
The scheme was initially introduced in 2017 but was suspended to give truck owners enough time to meet the required standards.
The scheme stipulates that all trucks doing business inside the port must go through a safety audit and be certified as fit-for-purpose, as absence or defect of certain vehicle parts and accessories will disqualify a truck from certification.
The safety inspection covers items that include the truck head, driver and vehicle particulars, trailer carriage unit, tyres, windscreen, wiper, safety belts, brake system, lifting jack, vehicle lights, driving mirror and speed limiter, tonnage, exhaust, radiator, ignition, fire extinguishers, horn, trafficators, twist locks and turntable, which must be in good working condition.
The items checked will be recorded as satisfactory or unsatisfactory after the inspection.