Persistent refusal by heavy-duty truck drivers to utilize the official transit parks created by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has brought vehicular movement along the Onne Port corridor to a near-standstill, threatening maritime logistics and crippling trade in the region.
The standoff came to a head on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, during an emergency site inspection and media update held at the Onne Port Main Gate Axis. Maritime administrators, host community leaders, and port operators gathered to address the spiraling traffic bottleneck that has disrupted daily life for local residents and slowed down national cargo evacuation.
While the NPA recently launched digital call-up infrastructure and expanded holding bays to streamline terminal access, hundreds of articulated vehicles continue to line the shoulders of the East-West Road and internal access routes, bypassing the designated parks.
Addressing journalists during the morning briefing, Engr. Marcus Chinedu, Senior Manager of Marine and Land Operations at Onne Port, outlined the consequences of this non-compliance: ”The facilities provided by the NPA are fully equipped, secure, and designed to manage the flow of traffic systematically into the terminals.
Unfortunately, a significant number of drivers intentionally avoid these parks to circumvent the digital queue, choosing instead to block public highways and pay illegal tolls to unauthorized roadside collectors. This practice creates severe security vulnerabilities, damages infrastructure, and delays cargo clearance times across all terminals.
” The host community has also expressed growing alarm over safety risks and environmental degradation caused by the indiscriminate parking of heavy vessels along residential corridors. Representing the host environment, Chief Tamuno Okon, Coordinator of the Onne Host Communities Joint Taskforce, warned that local patience is wearing thin as illegal parking restricts access to schools, markets, and emergency services:
”Our roads were not designed to serve as permanent overnight parking lots for heavy trucks. The persistent obstruction is endangering lives, destroying commerce in our towns, and creating severe hardship for our people. If the NPA and law enforcement do not strictly enforce park usage immediately, the community will take lawful steps to block all illegal parking along our access routes.”
On the side of the transport operators, Comrade Aliyu Bello, Public Relations Officer for the Maritime Truckers Coalition (MTC), argued that hidden fees and administrative delays within the parks contribute to driver reluctance: Drivers claim processing turnaround times inside the parks remain too slow, leading to missed loading slots. Transport operators cite double-taxation from non-state actors as a key driver of non-compliance.
Truckers also cited deteriorating access roads force drivers to stop on asphalt sections rather than unpaved holding areas. To resolve the impasse before trade operations suffer further disruption, NPA management announced a coordinated enforcement crackdown scheduled to take effect at 12:01 AM on Monday, August 24, 2026.
The joint initiative involving the Nigerian Police Force, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and state traffic management agencies will impound non-compliant vehicles, clear unauthorized roadside parks, and enforce strict adherence to the electronic call-up framework.
