The National President of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) Chief Remi Ogunggemi has pointed out that some government policies on the truck owners were slowing their progress and making smooth business operation burdensome.
Speaking at an event in Lagos recently, the AMATO boss said “There are many rickety and dilapidated vehicles. This is as a result of the fact that the money we are supposed to use to maintain these trucks or even phase out aging ones are been taken away directly or indirectly by some of the policies that are being rolled out by either the state government or other operators in the industry. There are so many devourers that are devouring the proceeds of the truck owners”
He continued “ Go to the port environment , it is only prison wardens and may be the Air force that you cannot see on the road, other agencies, security operatives, you see them within the port environment doing one thing or the other. These are the areas we have been losing our proceeds. So we need your (journalist) assistance on this aspect, so that you can help us drum it to the ears of those in authority so that by the time we have a place that will serve as a marshaling yard or a truck terminal, it will be easier for us to maintain these trucks to standard”.
He further pleaded with the government to empower then financially and legislatively, so that they can develop a truck terminal for their trucks. “We have identified places that can serve as truck terminal. It is not what we can achieve alone. It is capital intensive.
Even if we have financial power, we don’t have the political power, because the land is vested on the state government not in any individual. We cannot do it without the support of the federal government, state government and other stakeholders”.
