Foreign firm locks up minister in lift

Written by Daily Trust Friday, 28 May 2010

ShareMinister of Transport Yusuf Suleiman was locked up in a lift at the Lagos seaport for 35 minutes on Monday when he visited to inspect clearance of goods after allegations of unnecessary delays, an official said.

The minister and his entourage were locked up in the lift by angry foreign staff working for seaport concessionaire AP Moller, allegedly to prevent him from having access to the clearing bay of the company where hundreds of containers lay uncleared.

Spokesman for the transport minister Mr. Kingsley Agha confirmed the incident, saying Suleiman and members of his entourage were trapped in the lift when a foreign worker locked them up from behind and took away the keys.

But chief consultant to AP Moller Mr. Bolaji Akinola denied that the minister was locked up in a lift at the seaport. He said during the minister’s visit, some agents created confusion at the premises to justify their campaign against the company.

A senior paramilitary officer working at the port at the time the minister visited told Daily Trust that shortly after the minister arrived, some Nigerians whose goods were allegedly delayed by the port managers met him and complained to alleged extortion through unnecessary delay in the clearance of their goods.

“The minister then proceeded through the elevator to go and see things for himself and we all followed. Shortly after we entered the elevator with the minister, a white man operating the elevator locked us inside and removed the key and left.

“We were there with the minister for 35 minutes before some of our colleagues (security operatives) that were not trapped with us went round and made a way for us through a supermarket before the minister and the rest of us managed to escape,” the paramilitary man, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak to newsmen, said.

Confirming the incident to newsmen in Abuja yesterday, Agha, who is Deputy Director for Press and Publicity to the Minister, said Suleiman was at the port to see things for himself after some Nigerian businessmen accused the AP Moller of highhandedness.

Agha said the Nigerian businessmen complained to the minister that containers that were supposed to be cleared by the concessionaires within four days were delayed for over three weeks because a container attracts N9,000 penalty fee daily when delayed at the port, and the fees go to the concessionaire.

Agha said it was when the minister visited the seaport to investigate these allegations that he was locked up in a lift.

However, the chief consultant to APMT said, “It was not true that the minister was locked up inside the lift for 30 minutes. There was a confusion created by some agents in order to discredit APMT in the presence of the minister.”

Akinola, in an emailed response to our reporter, said, “Please refer to the press release issued yesterday by NPA wherein it was stated that APMT city office was operating under inhuman condition.

“The seeming chaotic situation at the city office when the Honourable Minister visited, unannounced, was deliberately created by the agents to make it look disorganised, chaotic and inhuman in order to justify their campaign against APMT.

“One of the leaders of the agents was clearly heard at Protea Hotel, Ikeja, calling several agents on phone and asking them to storm the city office and create confusion. They eventually achieved this and attempts by the APMT security to instill order was resisted by the agents.

“The APMT city office is normally a safe and conducive environment for business and everyone who has visited it can testify to its serenity and convivial atmosphere.

“Further attempts to create similar confusion at the main terminal by the same set of people, however, did not succeed as the Honourable Minister saw for himself the extent of work done and the genuine effort put in place by the company to satisfy its customers.”