By Roland Ekama, Lagos
Barely a week of borders closure nationwide by the Federal Government over issues bothering on insecurity, road transport workers along the ECOWAS corridor have decried massive lull in toll and levy collection from passengers and traders plying the route.
This , according to the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), expressed worries over the development saying members along the axis are counting their losses over the development.
The federal government had shutdown the nation’s border for 28 days under the code name “Ex Swift Response” , in furtherance to curb smuggling and insecurity along the frontier.
In a joint military operation , the border has been partially closed for eight days now.
While lamenting on closure of the borders and how it affected the union’s fortunes, Chairman, of Mile 2 Park NURTW, (name withheld) told our correspondent that there has been a massive drop in levy collection on vehicles at all the unit along the ECOWAS corridor
The Chairman who prefers anonymity explained that most of the parks along the Lagos – Badagry Expressway , are scanty due to the federal government directive on border closure.
He maintained that items smuggled or brought from the popular Cotonou market have dropped 100% ,while passengers who have businesses to transact at the borders dropped drastically.
“Usually in a day we use to collect N10,000 from buses plying this route to Seme but for the past one week that the border has been closed we don’t even make up to a N1000.
” We use to collect N200 per bus plying Mile 2 to Seme border but as we speak we cannot count up to three a day because nobody is ready to risk such movement when there is nothing happening in Cotonou.
The chairman noted that most of the parks along the frontier warehouses contraband items like vegetable oil, second clothing, bags of parboiled rice and tomato pastes, which were brought into Nigeria through smaller quantities.
He lamented that : ” On a daily basis I personally make N10,000/per day when business was OK. But since the closure of the border I make just a N1000.
Giving a vivid background of the union’s parks affected in closure, NURTW chieftain, mentioned Agbara , Ijanikin , Alaba Arago and Mile 2.
Also a bus driver at the popular Mile 2 Park , Peter Nnaji corroborated the Chairman’s submission saying, ” I now shuttle Seme once a day because of the situation “.
The driver said, passengers lull was as a result of the border closure , pointing out that a large number of drivers who ply the axis no longer patronise the ECOWAS corridor.
