Harboursandport.com: Lagos - June 27, 2025: The National President of the Amalgamated Truck Owners Association of Nigeria, ATOAN, Bello Ridwan, has blamed the resurgence of traffic congestion in Apapa on the failure of the electronic truck call-up system designed to regulate port access.
In an exclusive interview with Harboursandport.com, Ridwan criticized the e-call-up system operated by private firm Truck Transit Park, TTP, stating that it has failed to fulfill its intended purpose. He described the system as riddled with corruption, inconsistencies, and favoritism.
According to him, “I feel this is just a money-making scheme. We are not solving problems. The real enforcers are the security agencies, ensuring only trucks with valid call-up tickets access the port,” Ridwan said.
He explained that truckers are aware of the penalties for attempting to access the port without proper documentation, but the system’s inefficiencies persist.
Speaking from personal experience, Ridwan noted that his own trucks at the Export Processing Terminal, EPT —a facility established by the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA for export-bound trucks—often spend seven to eight days before gaining access to the port, a delay he described as unacceptable.
He explained that the original design of the EPT was for trucks to drop containers from exporters’ warehouses at the terminal, where they would be inspected by Customs and other agencies before being transferred to the port by designated trucks. However, this process is not being followed.
“Today, the same truck that brings the container from the warehouse takes it directly to the port—and still spends eight days doing so,” he lamented.
Ridwan further criticized the lack of functional equipment at the EPT, particularly cranes meant to offload containers for inspection.
“Nothing is happening at the terminal as designed. If you visit now, you won’t see any cranes operating. Yet, we are being charged for services that are not being rendered,” he said.
He concluded by calling on the NPA to address the systemic issues, warning that corruption in the haulage and port sectors has reached unprecedented levels.
“The corruption in the haulage sector is at an all-time high. The corruption in the port is at an all-time high,” he declared.
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