Esther Oritse
Lagos — Crisis is brewing at the Lagos ports as the Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Associations, COMTUA, has rejected the planned collection of a harmonised daily ticket by the Lagos State Trucks and Cargo Committee, LASTCOC, on the Apapa and Tin Can Island port corridors.
The development has heightened tension among stakeholders, with COMTUA describing the proposed ticket as illegal and warning that its enforcement could trigger resistance by truckers and disrupt cargo evacuation along the already-congested port corridors.
Recall that LASTCOC had announced the commencement of the Lagos State Government Harmonised Ticket for truck operators in the Apapa and Tin Can Island maritime corridors from Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
LASTCOC said the 24-hour ticket was introduced to promote an orderly and business-friendly trucking environment, eliminate illegal and multiple ticketing, and protect truck owners, operators and drivers from unnecessary financial burdens.
In a notice signed by the Chairman of LASTCOC,Alhaji Lukman Shittu to maritime truck owners, operators, drivers and other stakeholders, the committee urged all truck operators to obtain the Harmonised Ticket from authorised Points of Sale (POS) within the Apapa and Tin Can Island corridors.
It also advised operators to retain valid tickets throughout the 24-hour period and resist demands for unauthorised or multiple tickets from commuter unions, local governments, groups or individuals.
LASTCOC further urged truckers to promptly report attempts to impose illegal tickets, multiple levies or other unauthorised charges to the committee for necessary intervention.
The committee said the harmonised ticketing initiative was aimed at streamlining revenue collection and reducing the proliferation of charges affecting trucking operations across the state’s maritime corridors.
LASTCOC said the harmonised ticketing system is expected to bring greater transparency and uniformity to revenue collection while making it easier for truck operators to conduct business across the maritime corridor.
The committee therefore urged all stakeholders to support the implementation and comply with the new ticketing arrangement.
Meanwhile, the planned introduction of a daily harmonised ticket on the Apapa and Tin Can Island port corridors has triggered opposition from the Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Associations (COMTUA), which represents trucking associations and transport unions operating within Nigeria’s maritime sector.
In a statement by COMTUA’s President, Mr. Yinka Aroyewun said that the group has rejected the proposed levy by the Lagos State Trucks and Cargo Committee (LASTCOC), describing it as illegal, extortionist and provocative.
The reaction followed LASTCOC’s announcement that it would begin collecting the ticket from September 30, 2023.
COMTUA said it had formally petitioned the NPA Managing Director, insisting that no group had the authority to impose or collect tickets from truckers operating on the port corridors.
The union warned that any attempt to enforce the proposed collection could disrupt the fragile peace on the port access roads and undermine efforts to improve cargo evacuation through the
Electronic Truck Transit Operation (ETO) call-up system.
“Our position is clear, No form of ticket collection or enforcement by LASTCOC or any group will be tolerated on the port corridors. Transport tickets are constitutionally meant to be sold inside motor garages, not on federal highways and certainly not on a transit port corridor.Truckers in the ports are not members of LASTCOC and cannot be forced to patronize an illegal body.
“We have petitioned the Managing Director of the NPA and put the Authority on notice that any connivance, indulgence or failure to stop this illegality will be met with total resistance from truckers.
“We have maintained peace and supported all efforts to ensure free flow of traffic. This illegal tolling is capable of reversing all gains made through the ETO call-up system.
“We hold that the NPA will be responsible for any breakdown of law and order, withdrawal of services or shutdown of port operations that may arise from this illegal collection.
“We therefore demand that the NPA should publicly disassociate itself from LASTCOC, direct all security agencies to prevent them from operating on the port roads, and reaffirm that no group is authorized to collect tickets on the port corridor.
According to COMTUA, the proposed collection could further heighten tensions along the already challenging port access corridors and potentially lead to a breakdown of law and order.
Aroyewun said: “We have watched with keen interest in recent weeks how LASTCOC has been parading itself under the guise of “cleaning extortion points” on the port corridors. It is now clear to us that the exercise was a fraudulent smokescreen to achieve a premeditated illegal agenda – to institutionalize the same extortion they claimed to be cleaning.
“We wish to state categorically that LASTCOC has no legal backing, no constitutional role and no operational mandate to collect any levy, toll or ticket on federal port access roads which are under the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
