The equipment include two units of an air conditioner, a refrigerator, an executive office table, and a chair.

While handing over the equipment in Lagos, Basil Agboarumi, executive director, Corporate Affairs and Governmental Relations, SIFAX Group, said the donation was in line with the company’s commitment to its robust stakeholder engagement across all the sectors it has operations, both locally and internationally.

Agboarumi said the company also believes in the vision of LASTMA which is to ensure Lagosians enjoy logjam-free traffic in the state.

Adewale Adetayo, the General Manager, SIFAX Logistics Company Limited, also noted that the gesture was to strengthen the company’s strategic partnership with LASTMA and also support the new agency’s newly-appointed General Manager.

He said: “We are in the business of transportation and LASTMA is one of our key stakeholders, especially in the area of traffic management. This gesture is to further strengthen our strategic relationship with the agency and to show our support to the new GM who we believe has what it takes to reposition the agency and fulfill the vision of LASTMA.”

Bakare-Oki Olalekan, General Manager, LASTMA, appreciated the company for the donation, adding that effective traffic management is foremost on his agenda and his men have been well motivated to achieve this mandate.

The trucks, which are 33 tons 6×4 MAN diesel vehicles with 400 horsepower, will help the company increase its market share and competitiveness in long-distance and interstate deliveries. This acquisition now brings the trucks in the company’s fleet to 114.

According to Adewale Adetayo, General Manager, SIFAX Logistics Company Limited, the truck additions became necessary due to the upsurge in demand for the company’s haulage services across the country.

He said: “In order to maintain our market dominance and expansion to various new routes within the country, management decided to embark on the purchase of these new trucks. Our target is to expand rapidly and we have mapped out a strategic plan to acquire 200 new trucks before the end of the 2024 business year. This will be done in phases and we have started with 13 for now. We hope to buy another 20 in the next phase of our acquisition plan.”

Speaking on the brand of trucks purchased, Adetayo said the company went for the MAN diesel brand, which is a German product, because of its high rating in the logistics ecosystem, durability, load-bearing capability, driving stability and adaptability.

Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, Chairman, SIFAX Group noted that the company has always braved the odds to invest more in the Nigerian economy during downtimes. “We are aware many businesses are not favourably disposed to investing at this moment due to the prevailing economic reality. But the reality is that some economic activities like production and movement of goods will almost always demand for haulage services even in challenging times. We are scaling up through the acquisition of these trucks because of the huge potential in the industry.

“The economic outlook for the country is looking bright and we know that once the economy bounces back, we would reap the rewards of our investments. Many businesses, both existing and potential clients, continue to reach out to us due to the credibility and efficiency we have achieved over the years. To meet these agreements, we need a larger fleet”, he noted.