NSC Unveils New Tariffs for Truck Operators

• NSC Unveils New Tariffs for Truck Operators

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council is working on a new tariff regime for truck operators and owners in the country.

The proposed tariff regime was presented to stakeholders, including the leadership of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, National Union of Road Transport Workers, Association of Maritime Truck Owners, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria and others.

The Executive Secretary, NSC, Hassan Bello, explained that further consultations would be held on the matter with the stakeholders.

“We had a meeting with truckers, where we unveiled the tariffs to them. We have been working with them for a very long time. And now, we are about to negotiate with them and we understand the situation, because we know there are things like multiple taxes, local council levies, area boys’ extortion, the congestion at the port and many other issues,” MMS Plus, an online maritime news portal quoted him as saying.

According Bello, the move has received wide acceptance but there are still areas to be discussed and agreed on.

He stated, “The essence is to have a rate for reference. If you have to transport a 20-foot container from Lagos to Akure or Mbaise, you know that there is a rate for that. It is going to be signed by all and we are going to publish it.

“We need orderliness from them as much as they need the government to provide the enabling environment for them. The roads are being rehabilitated by the government. We have Jebba-Ilorin road, for example. Lagos-Ibadan road is also being rehabilitated; Kano-Kaduna road, Port Harcourt-Enugu roads are also being worked on.”

He added, “The government is embarking on massive road reconstruction. We want to commercially regulate the truckers by telling them not to use rickety trucks. We had reached an advanced stage by introducing a scheme of re-fleeting their vehicles with the banks.

“But they asked, ‘where are the roads?’ They said if they had loans to acquire trucks, the roads would damage the vehicles and that made sense to us. It increased my love for consultation, because sometimes we on the government side ride on high horses, believing that we know it all. It is people who are concerned in the business that you have to rely on.”