Freight forwarders worried ‘Eto’ downtime may worsen haulage cost

There are concerns among the freight forwarders operating in Lagos ports that the challenges currently facing ‘Eto’ platform may worsen the cost of haulage.

Truck operators from different unions under the aegis of the Committee of Maritime Truck Unions and Associations (COMTUA) have called on the government to ensure full enforcement of the scheme to restore sanity to port access roads.

The Coordinator, Olaleye Thompson, in a chat with newsmen in Lagos, decried the terrible experience of members of the union over the traffic in Apapa after the disbandment of PTT.

He noted that the lack of enforcement of the electronic call-up system would compound gridlock along the port corridors. He called on the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Lagos State government to introduce enforcement measures to tackle the perennial traffic along the port corridors.

Also, freight forwarders have lamented that the electronic portal, which sometimes experiences downtime, has taken its toll on haulage costs.

A freight forwarder, Emeka Efi, lamented that due to the downtime of the call-up system, trucking haulage prices, which was reduced to N300,000 as of December 2020 was heading to N400,000.

“The price came down to as low as N210, 000 and I loaded so many trucks, but yesterday, the ETO call-up system portal was not even running at all for three days and this caused the price to increase again to N450, 000,” he said.

The Vice-Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) at Tin Can Island Port, Mike Okolichi, confirmed that at Tin Can Island Port, the haulage price, was N350,000 and attributing it to the portal challenges.