In a bid to curb the mulfarious problems associated with trucking in Nigeria, a new association known as, Corporate Fleet Truck Owners Association (CFTOA) was launched last week.
The new association which was launched in Apapa, Lagos already has ten companies as members with over 300 trucks.
Speaking to MMS Plus at the event, the President of the association, Mrs. Folake Soji-Gorge said that the association was established to correct of the misconception that trucking was meant for touts and give fleets owners an avenue to make input into the polices that affect their businesses.
“We expect the Corporate Fleet Truck Owners Association (CFTOA) to be a voice for the truck fleet owners. Our members comprise companies with at least ten trucks their fleet. We want to be able to decide our freight rates to decide our freight rates after deliberating with our clients and other government regulatory agencies.
“We also want to maintain the standards that Federal Government has set for trucks in terms of standardization. This association gives us a voice and an identity in the society to discuss matters that affect our business”, she said.
Similarly, the Chairman, Association of Maritime Trucks Owners (AMATO), Chief Remi Ogungbemi welcomed the association as the corporate voice that should serve as a pressure group for truck owners in the country.
Chief Remi also admonished the new body to partner with other trucking associations in order to ensure a more efficient trucking industry in the nation.
Meanwhile, the former General Manger, Western Ports of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Chief Michael Kayode Ajayi urged CFTOA to train their drivers properly on safety standards, use of speed limiters and other modern gadgets.
Ajayi, who was credited for setting the platform that led to the creation of CFTOA, commended the association as the first group to understand the truck sanitization exercise he introduced for Western Ports while he was the General Manager last year.
Chief Ajayi, who has just retired from the NPA, encouraged the group to channel its intellectual capacity towards transforming the truck business in the nation from the dominance of touts into a venture for refined professionals.
