In a move to check activities of unpatriotic elements sabotaging the Nigerian Ports Authority’s NPA electronic truck traffic management (e- Call-Up) system also known as “eto”, the Authority’s officials and security agents undertook a spot check of the MPS Pre-gate and made a mind boggling discovery of 249 fake vehicle plate numbers and 149 units of Minimum Safety Standard MSS stickers.

Further checks of the terminal led to the discovery of another 164 pieces of vehicle number plates and 133 pieces of MSS stickers that are not fixed on any truck in readiness to be deployed for proxy booking.

The fake number plates and MSS tickets were immediately confiscated and the terminal manager invited for questioning.

This development validates the Authority’s position on the existence of a deliberate and well- orchestrated effort to undermine the electronic Call- Up system, which was initiated by the NPA to eliminate human interface in managing traffic in and out of the seaport as a measure of sustainably taming the menace of traffic gridlock hurting the national economy.

Speaking on the development, Managing Director of the Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko said the NPA is more than ever, resolute in consolidating the e-call up project and its other process automation initiatives in order to grow the maritime sector to its full potential.

Recall that the introduction of the electronic traffic management system, which requires haulage trucks to remain within the terminals until there is a signal from the port terminal operator that the cargo to be lifted by any particular truck is ready, reduced the seemingly intractable Apapa gridlock drastically, having checked the former practice where trucks are littered on the roads while scouting for haulage jobs, some of which might not actualise in one month.

The truck terminals located around the Ijora axis in Lagos and the Apapa –Mile2 Road are equipped with toilets, bathrooms, food canteens, rooms and other conveniences to give the truck drivers and their motor boys a measure of comfort while waiting for their trucks to be called up.