COVID-19: Shippers Council Solicits Donation of PPE’s To Truck Drivers at Nigerian Ports 

Speaking with the reporters,  Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council,  Barr Hassan Bello said the various haulage associations and the truck owners must take up the responsibility of ensuring that their drivers and employers are well kitted.

Bello had since embarked on the strict enforcement of the  use of hand sanitizers,  wearing of gloves and face masks, in addition to constant enlightenment on the importance of personal hygiene and social distancing for all port workers.

He confirmed to our correspondent that this was part of the discussions at a recent stakeholders meeting he held with the various truck unions.

Speaking, the Shippers Council boss said “This was the essence of the meeting we had with their owners and employers, everybody should take responsibility,  we told them that we are concerned that they are not observing the guidelines”

“These safety guidelines are very important and even well spelt out in the President’s speech that truckers are allowed to go into the port to carry essential cargoes including food,  medicine and so on, but they have to follow the guidelines”

“We have already spoken with the employers,  the truck unions and the various associations that they should take responsibility and enlighten their members”

“We are also soliciting for people to donate to the truckers, gears that would ensure that the virus is not spread through them” he said

The truckers had agreed with the Shippers at the meeting to cut their

haulage rates by thirty percent during the lockdown period.

Recall that the Vice Chairman, Presidential Committee on the Restoration of Law and Order in Apapa, Comrade Kayode Opeifa during a stakeholders meeting with the Shippers Council had lamented that truck drivers do not have hand sanitizers and face masks.

He said “The truck drivers coming to the port to pick cargoes do not have hand Sanitizers, they are not protected, they come into Apapa without cloths, some of them have no call up and they are pushed to the road.”

“I want to appeal to the Shippers Council and CRFFN to take control of this process because the truckers are just behaving the way they like, they just coming anytime they want to come in”