The former Deputy National Coordinator, save Nigeria Freight Forwarders Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNIFFIEC), Comrade Stephen Ibe has described the management of the AP Moller Terminal (APMT) as a big time failure.
Comrade Ibe who was reacting to some statements credited to the spokesman of the terminal, Mr. Bolaji Akinola where he was quoted as saying that in a commercial environment, one cannot satisfy everybody, stated that he was disappointed that the management of the terminal could be that insensitive as to come up with such a defense for its abysmal performance in recent times.
He wondered whether APMT was operating in a different commercial environment as the Tincan Island Container Terminal (TICT) and Grimaldi group which attract less attention to their operations in their respective terminals as APMT do.
He argued that had APMT tried to a certain a level of customer satisfaction in their operations, one would have easily understood that it was environmental problems that was responsible for their inadequacies contending that the reverse was the case.
He said,” he is saying that in a commercial environment that they cannot satisfy everybody, is Grimaldi not operating in a commercial environment? Why am I saying what I am saying about them? What about TICT? They are all port concessionaires but what am saying here is that they have done well that they can be commended to a certain level but APMT, they are a big time failure”.
“If they had tried on a certain level and we can see that it is the situation on ground that is causing the problem, yes, we can say okay, let us see what to do but in this case, we are seeing abysmal performance”.
On the claim that the terminal operates a truck schedule to harmonize the number of trucks allowed entry into the terminal within a given period of time, Com. Ibe questioned the rationale behind that idea arguing that since the importer through his agents had paid all the recommended charges, he is at liberty to take delivery of his consignment at his own time and not at the terminal’s time.
“My own is to raise your debit note, pay you, then it behoves on you after payment to allow me to come in to carry my container whenever I like. This issue of giving trucks schedule does not follow”, he said.
He went further to adduce that the terminal contributed to the gridlock witnessed in and around Apapa saying that since the trucks could not go in freely and smoothly, there was bound to be gridlock as the truckers would be forced to park anywhere they like pending when they were allowed entry into the terminal to either load or offload containers.
He maintained that while the government was making effort to make the roads motorable, the tactical delays employed by the terminal management to deny entry to truckers had refused to give way because some people were benefitting from it thus the don’t want the problem to be solved.
According to him,” the road challenge is being given attention but in this case, for a very long time, it is difficult to solve because some people are feeding from it one way or the other, so they don’t want the problem to be solved. Even the freight forwarders, everybody is willing to go in and load their containers and stop paying demurrages but these people don’t want the cargoes to go because they are gaining from it, that is the demurrage”.
On the claim by the Management of the terminal that it has enough equipment to handle its operations in the terminal, the former SNIFFIEC chieftain challenged the management to justify its claim by not suspending every other operation in the terminal once a vessel arrive the terminal and starts offloading its consignment.
He insisted that it was only when every operation in the terminal go on simultaneously without anyone having to suffer delay can they convince anyone that the terminal was not lacking in equipment.
“If they have 22 Rubber Tyre Gantries (RTGs) as they claimed, what stops them from allowing trucks to go in and load containers whenever they want to since I have written my Terminal Delivery Order, pay you your charges and when my truck comes in to load, you say no, we gave you a schedule and it has passed. Why should it be so?”
Com. Ibe further disclosed that the terminal’s claim that one or two of its equipment may break down once in a while thus not translating to lack of equipment, could be so because those equipment were insufficient thus being overworked thereby leading to its constant breakdown.
He also opined that those equipment were bound to pack up when the management had gone to the market to buy outdated equipment saying,” let us call the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Finance, let us go and take assessment of those equipment that they are talking about and go to TICT and see the kind of equipment TICT bought”.
