Market News

By Adaku Onyenucheya

Transporting containers with goods from Apapa Port has become more expensive than other ports such as Tin Can and Lekki. The surge is due to multiple checkpoints managed by government, security, and regulatory task forces along the port access roads and extortion by truck associations.

Truckers must navigate a maze of security and regulatory checkpoints along the Apapa port access roads, from Ijora to Apapa and from Apapa to Mile 2, Creek Road and Eleganza.

At these points, money is collected from truckers to access the port, further inflating the haulage cost. According to recent findings, transporting a 40-foot container from Apapa Port to Alaba International and Aspanda markets costs N900,000. In contrast, the same journey from Tin Can Island Port costs N350,000 and from Lekki Port, N550,000. For a 20-foot container, the cost from Apapa port is N400,000.

Stakeholders also pointed to the irregularities within the NPA’s Eto Call-up system as one of the primary drivers of these high haulage fees. The Head of the Technical Department of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Adeshina Ajibola, highlighted the role of an unidentified cabal that has been selling one-way access call-up tickets for between N250,000 and N300,000 per truck.

The General Secretary of the Lagos State Truck and Cargo Operators Committee (LASTCOC), Mohammed Sani, also confirmed that corruption at the port is crippling the haulage sector. He revealed that truckers have been waiting for a resolution to the issue, but it remains largely unaddressed, further exacerbating the cost of transporting cargo.

A clearing agent, Kehinde Odumuyiwa, lamented the increased difficulty importers are having using Apapa Port. He explained that cargoes from both Apapa and Tin Can Port are heading to the same market, yet the costs from Apapa are much higher, leading to increased competition from importers using alternative ports.

“All the goods go to the same market, but the cost of haulage from Apapa is just too high. We are now forced to charge N900,000 for a cargo that should only cost N380,000 to transport from Apapa to Lagos. It takes a week just to get a truck into the port, and on top of that, customs and clearing procedures have become even more cumbersome,” Odumuyiwa said.

Another clearing agent, Frank Aliakor, also verified that the cost of transporting containers from Apapa Port to Alaba International and Aspanda markets has reached no less than N880,000 for a 40-foot container, while the cost for a 20-foot container is N400,000.

Aliakor pointed out that it often takes days for trucks to even gain access to the port, with various security agencies and truck associations controlling access and collecting fees along the way.

“The challenge lies with the Eto Call-up system and the movement of trucks in and out of Apapa. The NPA, the Police, and other agencies all have task forces on the road, delaying trucks’ access to the port. As a result, truckers have to recoup these additional costs from importers, which drives up haulage fares,” Aliakor explained.

There has been a growing call from stakeholders to dismantle these corrupt checkpoints, with many believing that such actions would lower transportation costs. Aliakor noted that the truckers are passing on the charges they incur from these agencies and unions, inflating haulage fees.

“If these points of corruption and checkpoints are dismantled, the cost of cargo transportation will drop significantly,” he stated.