By Steve Agbota and Henry Uche

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) through its Port Standing Task Team (PSST) last week, commenced the second phase of its ‘Operation Free the Port Corridors’ programme to eradicate corrupt practices, remove all illegal checkpoints, shanties, and indiscriminate parking of trucks along the port access roads.

Speaking at the flag-off ceremony of the exercise, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) Emmanuel Jime said the whole idea of “Operation Free the Ports’ Corridors” is essentially to rid the ports and Ports’ Corridors of inefficiencies and corrupt practices to enhance the ease-of-doing-business.

According to him, the first phase of the exercise, which was flagged off on 14 April covers the Apapa Port Complex to the SIFAX-Ijora Road corridor, adding that the second phase of the exercise will cover Apapa /Tin-Can, Coconut/Berger Yard, Mile 2/ Orile and Ijora axis.

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“This is a 15.6km stretch of roads littered with shanties and trucks parked indiscriminately thereby causing untold hardships to other commuters and creating opportunity for extortions and other forms of corrupt practices by both state and non-state actors,” he said. However, he said the commencement of the second phase is a demonstration of the success that the PSTT has achieved during the first phase even in the face of logistics and operational challenges. He said the successes recorded were not without dire consequences including stern resistance, intimidation, the threat to lives, and physical assault of operatives, gadgets, and vehicles.

“A case in point was the attack on some personnel of the task team including the National Coordinator where they were assaulted and harassed. It is not easy to walk the path that the PSTT has been through these past few months.

“Many people had their reservations while others expressed their doubts as to the capability of the task team in successfully clearing the Apapa port complex to SIFAX-Ijora Road corridor with a view to bringing sanity and ensuring free flow of traffic,” he said.

Flagging off the initiative earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, who was represented by a Deputy Director in the Ministry, Mr. Adams Ofie, said the Ministry was  aware of the major challenges posed by the Enlarged (PSTT) due to the inadequate logistics and operational needs for a more robust and effective mandate.