Cartels extorting truckers ₦300,000 oppose electronic call-up – TTP

The firm handling the Electronic Call-Up system for trucks at Lagos ports, Trucks Transit Parks (TTP), has raised the alarm that some individuals, both outside and within the government, who benefitted from the extortion of N300,000 and N250,000 from truckers along the port access roads before the implementation of ETO (Electronic Call-Up System) are fighting back to frustrate the system.

Speaking with the executives of the Transportation Correspondents Association of Nigeria (TCAN) in Lagos late on Wednesday, the Managing Director of TTP, Jama Onwubuariri, explained that the ETO app has been upgraded 160 times since its inception in 2021.

According to the TTP boss, “After the port concessioning in 2006, a lot of the spaces within the ports that were used for parking trucks temporarily while waiting for their cargo, drop-off, or pick-up were converted for stacking containers.

“Again, like I said, the population has grown, so import and export activities have increased. The spaces that the trucks used to wait in the ports while being serviced are now being used to keep cargo.

“So because of that, we now had a tailback of trucks on the port access roads. Now, when you bring in what we typically call the Nigerian factor, some people want to make quick profits out of any negative situation they see. So, you had law enforcement agents and private actors helping drivers get faster access to the ports.

“Effectively, that led to a sort of cartel where, if you did not pay N300,000 or N250,000, your truck would not get into the ports. It was a bit of an embarrassment for us as a country.

“There was even a time when the government came up with what they called the Presidential Task Force on Apapa traffic, all geared toward finding a solution.

“But what we told the government is that an ad-hoc approach is not going to solve the problem. You need a targeted, long-term, technology-driven solution. So, we developed the ETO app as an indigenous application to address both the issue at hand and the invisible Nigerian factor that comes with it.

READ ALSO:TTP disables trucks on ETO platform over number plate infractions

“So, what ETO has done since its introduction in February 2021 is to assign roles to every stakeholder. The Lagos State Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority are to ensure the enforcement of the standard operating procedures.

“Before you see a truck on the road, it needs to have been on an electronic queue. There are certain factors that determine their place in the queue—factors like when you booked, when you notified the system that you have a business, and where you are going.

“For example, if you are going to Apapa Port, what cargo or business are you handling relative to another truck going to Tin-Can and carrying bulk cargo instead of containerized cargo? Other factors also consider how ready the terminal is to receive you.

“When you see congestion on the road, it means there is also congestion electronically. This means that many trucks are booking to enter these destinations without a measured readiness or speed of those destinations attending to them. So, you can use the electronic platform to monitor road efficiency.

“The federal government has been very happy with what we’ve been able to do, but there are still a lot of challenges within the system. Like I mentioned, you have the Nigerian factor.

“Some of the people who were collecting N250,000 or N300,000 per truck in 2020 and early 2021 are not happy that an electronic system has taken over their work and so-called means of livelihood. So, we’re still experiencing a lot of opposition and challenges from such individuals and, sometimes, organizations.

“There are also those within the government sector who, because of their particular roles, were beneficiaries of the old system. When approvals for innovations come to them for recommendation, their recommendations are sometimes negative.

“Despite these setbacks, we have made over 160 upgrades to the ETO app since February 27, 2021. Just like you have your Google apps and others that get upgraded from time to time, we’ve made over 160 upgrades to the ETO app since its inception. These upgrades are to increase security, ease business operations through the app, and address identified problems reported by our field workers.”