AMTO - Electronic call-up system will tackle gridlock

The Secretary-General of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners, Mohamed Bala, has given a vote of confidence in the electronic call-up system adopted by the Nigerian Ports Authority to manage traffic on the Apapa and Tincan Port Access Roads.

In a statement, Sani-Bala commended the platform following a calm gathering in Apapa. He praised the NPA's initiative and emphasized that it has restored order to the port access routes.

"Not simply an app, but a game-changer and a milestone achievement in the history of Nigeria's marine logistics," he says of the e-call-up system.

He emphasized that import and export cargoes have been evacuated with ease as a result of removing traffic jams and enhancing traffic flow along logistical routes.

“On behalf of the trucking community, we wish to use this peaceful rally as a platform to express our profound gratitude to the management of NPA for the deployment of the Eto Call-Up System, and to also appreciate the Lagos State Government for its vital role in enforcing compliance with the Standard Operating Procedures that underpin the system,” he said.

He stated that the Eto-call-up system is more than just an app, adding that it is a game-changer and a major achievement in the history of Nigeria’s marine logistics.

Sani-Bala remarked that the platform brought in a new era of automation, transparency, and efficiency in port access and truck scheduling, eliminating the long-standing turmoil and gridlock that plagued the Apapa and Tin Can Island logistics corridors for decades.

Truckers no longer have to wait in line for days on end or deal with road cabals for access tags, which used to cost between N250,000 and N300,000, frequently with no guarantee of progress, because they can now remotely and reasonably reserve port access slots from anywhere in the globe. The extortion and exploitation that characterized the manual era have been eradicated by the Eto system, which charges a flat fee of N21,500, he stated.

According to Sani-Bala, the port corridors are now more open, the atmosphere is friendlier, and property values are increasing.

"Sanity has returned to our highways, gridlock has subsided, and truckers are no longer sleeping in cars or passing away from tiredness while operating a vehicle. The atmosphere is now friendlier and port passageways are more fluid. Businesses now run on time, and import and export commodities are evacuated with ease. Sani-Bala emphasized that Apapa, which was formerly a ghost town, is now thriving again, with increased property values and a revived sense of community.

The AMATO scribe attacked the current campaign of slander against the call-up system, claiming that their goal is to go back in time to a period when truckers were exploited and extorted under the pretense of facilitating port access.

We know that some people are funding a slander campaign against the platform. It should be noted that these critics are primarily the benefactors of the defunct manual system that automation has rendered obsolete. They want to go back in time to when truckers were extorted and taken advantage of under the pretense of facilitating port access," he stated.

"That individuals who earlier charged N250,000 to N300,000 for truck admission now criticize the N21,500 Eto method of being fraudulent is ironic and, to be honest, disgraceful," he said. They would have put in place a just and open system during their tenure if they genuinely cared about the interests of truckers.

In addition to saying that the platform is here to stay and that "we must oppose any attempts to undermine the progress it symbolizes," Sani-Bala cautioned everyone in the trucking industry to exercise caution.

“We say kudos to the NPA, the Lagos State Government, and TTP for bringing sanity back to our roads and ports,” he said.

Afeez Alabi, the Maritime Truck Drivers Association's Public Relations Officer, also spoke out against efforts to subvert the electronic call-up system, cautioning that a return to the disorganized previous port access system would severely impair port axis operations.

According to him, the digital system has made truck movement in and out of the ports more transparent and orderly, revealing irregularities and greatly easing traffic congestion.

Although the system was first offered for a nominal charge of N10,250, Alabi admitted that a black market has now developed where call-up slots are auctioned for N120,000 to N130,000, indicating systemic corruption that the truckers seek to eradicate.