AMATO Drums Support for TTP Ltd, Urges NPA to Renew Contract for Eto Call-up System

By DAPO OLAWUNI

The Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) has called on the Managing Director of Nigerian ports Authority (NPA) Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, to renew the contract of Truck and Transit Park Limited (TTP), the operators of the eto electronic call-up system.

In a letter signed by Comrade Mohammed Sanni Bala, Secretary General of AMATO dated 21st of November 2025, the association noted that there are some entrenched interest seeking to make sure that the port return to its dark days where traffic gridlock is order of the day.

“Our attention has been drawn to a recent letter authored by promoters of the old manual call-up regime and beneficiaries of the notorious Apapa–Tincan gridlock economy, urging the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) not to renew the TTP contract.

“We consider such correspondence self-serving, detrimental to national economic interest, and a direct threat to the progress recorded in port access management” AMATO said.

The association stated that before the introduction of the eto system, the Apapa and Tincan logistics corridors were the epicenter of traffic anarchy where Truckers paid as much as ₦350,000 just to access the ports, often spending weeks or even months on the queue to make a single trip.

“Our drivers were dying behind the steering due to exhaustion and the chaotic environment.
Apapa became a ghost town, with businesses collapsing under the weight of the gridlock.

“The ports suffered extreme congestion and unacceptable cargo dwell time compared to any port globally.
The access roads became refuse dumps and open areas for bathing and defecation due to truckers trapped endlessly in traffic.
This shameful situation enriched a few powerful actors who thrived on chaos” it said in the letter.

AMATO further argued that within a short space of time that the management of NPA introduced the eto electronic call-up system operated by TTP, all the challenges faced at the port have practically evaporated.

“Today, we access Apapa and Tincan ports within a few days at affordable rates.
Traffic gridlock has disappeared. Businesses in Apapa are springing back to life. Truck turnaround time has drastically improved.

“Cargo dwelling time has reduced significantly. Drivers no longer sleep on bridges and roads. We book call-up slots conveniently from our homes or offices.

:The eto system is a game changer—a watershed innovation that has enhanced ease of doing business, improved trade facilitation, and ensured efficient cargo evacuation” AMATO said

The association also urged the NPA to disregard the attacks on TTP management, arguing that such attacks are coming from people who do not mean well for the ports.

“The only “offense” of the eto system is that it has rendered jobless and irrelevant the vested interests who profited massively from the gridlock economy.

“These groups, sworn enemies of automation, are desperate to drag the system back to the shameful era of manual call-up so they can return to the roads to extort and dominate truckers.

“Their letters of blackmail against TTP are not in the interest of the maritime sector or the Nigerian economy; they are merely an attempt to restore disorder for personal gain”

“AMATO further urged the Management of NPA to: Ignore all calls aimed at discouraging the renewal of TTP’s contract.

“Sustain and strengthen the eto call-up system, which remains the most efficient port access control system in the country.

“Consider adding e-tag integration into the eto system to further enhance operational efficiency and access management.

“Adopt the the Truck Manifest Scheduler System to regulate demand and supply of trucks between pregates and port terminals without trucks spill over on port access roads.

“Enhance terminal operational efficiency for to reduce congestion and slow movement of trucks into thr ports.

“Eliminate extortion and multiple checkpoints that induce man made traffic and impede vehicular movement to the ports.

“We appreciate the NPA Management for introducing and sustaining the eto electronic call-up system. It has restored sanity, transparency, and dignity to port logistics operations” it concluded