Truck drivers threaten to embark on strike over attacks by hoodlums

Truck drivers in the country have threatened to embark on strike following attacks on their vehicles by hoodlums.

Several trucks and warehouses have recently come under attack from hoodlums as the food inflation and the cost of living crisis in the country spiralled.

Worried by the unsavoury development, the organised private sector warned the attacks could lead to a shutdown of industries across the country.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government says it has intercepted 141 trucks attempting to smuggle grains and other commodities to Niger Republic, Chad, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic.

Bashir Adeniyi, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, said that the service had within two weeks arrested about 120 trucks smuggling food items from Nigeria.

Similarly, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) also stopped 21 food trucks from leaving the country on Tuesday.

Briefing the federal lawmakers on the enforcement of the Presidential directive to curtail food smuggling during the sectoral debate series, the Customs CG, Adeniyi, said they were acting of the directive of President Bola Tinubu.

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He noted that President Tinubu had given a directive that the arrested trucks be diverted to the local markets in the area where they were arrested to force down the prices of grains and other food items.

“We arrested in two weeks about 120 trucks of food items going out of the country. These are the food items Mr President has asked us to give back to the local markets where the arrests were made. We believe this will drive down the price of food items in these places,” he added.

He stated that the decision to halt the smuggling of food items was to fight hunger and not encourage those who wanted to enrich themselves at the expense of the people.

He warned against adopting quick-fix solutions to address the food scarcity in the country, adding that the country must put in place long-term measures to address the situation.