Gift Ekwueme
Lagos — The Chairman of the newly-formed Lagos State Truck and Cargo Operators Committee, LASTCOC, Alhaji Lukman Shittu Zangalo, has pledged to address the numerous issues faced by truck drivers and commercial haulage operators in Lagos State.
Zangalo, while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the committee in Lagos, promised to embrace unity and collaboration as a unifying factor for the truckers in the state.
He also stated that the committee marked the beginning of a new chapter for LASTOC stands as a testament to the collective commitment to enhancing the conditions and efficiency of truckers and cargo operators in the state.
He said: “I thank Lagos State Government for bringing up this committee to solve the problem of truckers in the state. I would try my best to end the suffering of truckers and cargo operators in Lagos State with the support of our elders, truckers, and members of the committee”.
Also speaking at the event, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederick Oladeinde, who was represented by an Assistant Director in the Ministry of Transportation, Tiamiyu Oluwatosin, stressed that the newly formed committee was a strategic move to seamlessly manage trucking activities in collaboration with the Lagos State Government.
The Commissioner explained the industry’s enduring issues and stated that the government acknowledges the need for resolution.
He said: “We have been having lingering crisis in this industry, and we felt that it is time to resolve all this and that was why the committee was set up to run the activities of trucks seamlessly with Lagos state government”.
The General Secretary of LASTCOC, Mohammed Sani, who was present at the event, said the committee brings together truckers on a common platform with the goal to provide solutions to the issues impeding the growth and stability of the state’s trucking industry.
He applauded the Lagos state government for creating the committee, adding that its mandate is not all about ease of doing transportation business in the state, but about Nigeria’s trade facilitation, seamless evacuation of cargo and economic progress.
Mohammed also explained that for the committee to succeed, all stakeholders must play their roles efficiently without bias and sentiment. He pleaded with members of the security/traffic ecosystem and the trucking community to encourage the committee in rescuing the failing trucking business from area boys extortion and the ruthlessness of those who are destroying the transportation sector.
He further called for assistance in rescuing truckers from situations incapacitating them from feeding their families and keeping their trucks in good condition to meet the minimum safety standard required by the government.
