NPA’s Electronic Call-Up System Under Threat, As AMARTO Establishes Parallel e-Call Up System for Trucks

…Association Kicks Against Setting Up New Task Force for Apapa Traffic

By DAPO OLAWUNI

Even as the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has set up a company called Truck Transit Park Limited (TTP) to manage its electronic call-up system billed to commence by 27th of February 2021, the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMARTO) have established a parallel call up system named; Truck Scheduler System (TSS)

Chairman of AMARTO, Chief Remi Ogungbemi in a message to DAILY TREND NEWS said while the NPA’s TTP is to ensure automation system of admitting trucks seamlessly into the ports and also to eliminate traffic congestion, the TSS is for seamless admission of trucks into the ports without hassles.

Ogungbemi criticised the government for always seeing the deployment of security operatives as the best solution to Apapa and Tincan traffic gridlock, even when the same strategy has failed to resolve the problem in the past.

He hinted of plans by the federal government to form another task team to control traffic in Apapa and Tincan road axis.

“When the Presidential Task Team PTT was inaugurated to resolve traffic gridlock in Apapa/Tincan road axis, it eventually led to the institutionalization of bribery and extortion of truckers by differentroad cabals in collaboration with the security operatives who became a problem instead of providing solution to the problem of traffic they were sent to resolve in Apapa and Tincan port access roads”

“Eventually, the PTT was dissolved and disbanded by government following an avalanche of complaints of gross abuse of its mandate for selfish ends in the maritime trucking industry”

“The fact that government has hammer does not mean every problem is a nail. There are problems whose solutions do not require the deployment of police and military riffles but a simple technological approach”

“The TTP “eto” system or TSS technological automation truck call up system can seamlessly admit trucks into the ports, petroleum tank farm depots and factories without trucks clogging the roads and bridges”

“Under this arrangement, all trucks would be made to leave the roads / bridges and go back to their private garages while the Terminals /NPA decide / approve which container or cargo is ready for loading and which truck is in turn to leave its park in order to go and load at ports, factories and depots through the automation system. TAG are also allocated to trucks that are approved by the automation system to make sure that only trucks with approved tags are allowed to move on the ports access roads without clogging the bridges and port access roads contrast to the manual system of passing trucks where road sides are converted to truck parks and where hundreds of trucks clog the bridges and port access roads in the struggle to enter ports, factories and tank farms”

“Therefore, we are using this forum to say capital NO to the introduction of battalion Police or any Task Force to be on the road for manual control of traffic into the ports”

” eto” and TSS are here to replace all human encumbrances that are militating against free flow of traffic in Apapa and Tincan road axis. Federal government should allow these systems to work in the interest of peace and traffic sanity” he said