A maritime stakeholder, Prince Aderemei Olikuntuyi has condemned the continuous collection of Wharf Landing Fees by the Apapa Local Government on roads leading into the port, saying that the money is not being utilized for the purpose it was meant for.
Prince Olikuntuyi who claimed to be the originator of the Wharf Landing Fee idea and had purportedly introduced it to the former Chairman of Apapa Local Government, Senator Muniru Muse, argued that the collectors of the money have derailed from the original concept of the Wharf Landing Fees.
According to him, the Lagos State Government should has failed to use part of the proceeds from Wharf Landing Fees to fix the dilapidated portions of the access roads leading to the port where the money is being generated.
He however lamented that the money which according to him have ran into trillions of Naira is currently going into the pockets of very few corrupt individuals.
Prince Olikuntuyi claimed that they copied the Wharf Landing Fees concept from Gatwick Authorities in the United Kingdom where the magnitude of trailers coming to the area deprives the citizens of social life.
The ADLAD Chief Executive Officer however challenged the Federal and State Government to jettison calls by truck owners including Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMARTO) and National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) stressing that it is an aberration for government to provide parking spaces for truck owners.
He challenged maritime truck owners to ensure that they acquire a parking space for the trucks before going into the business and that they should stop constituting a nuisance at the ports.
“The government today does not pay for the office where I am using, why should truck owners, he questioned?
