Because of their penchant for stopping haulage vehicles to collect illegal fees, long stretches of vehicles are the norm. With this, over 40 ships are at anchorage at the port due to lack of space to discharge new cargoes at terminals as cargo evacuation is hampered by the multiple toll points mounted by security operatives and Presidential Task Force (PTF) members.
Truck drivers allege that they pay over N200,000 per truck at the checkpoints illegally erected on the port access roads.
The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) had earlier threatened to embark on strike over the suffering its members are subjected to as a result of the gridlock. But following pacification by the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the planned strike was suspended.