Maritime stakeholders under the aegis of Concerned Maritime Stakeholders of Nigeria CMSN have thumped up for the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA over the decision to streamline operations of its pet project, the Truck Electronic Call-Up System, also called ‘eto’, which has drastically reduced traffic congestion and other encumbrances on most port access roads, especially in Apapa.

It would be recalled that the acting Managing Director of the NPA, Mohammed Bello- Koko had on assumption of duty in June last year rebooted the operational systems of the ‘eto’ with the deployment of more infrastructure, which made it more efficient by eliminating traffic congestion.

NPA had also ensured the punishment and redeployment of some erring security officials comprising operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management LASTMA, NPA security personnel and even some Police officers, who were alleged to have undermined the systems. This is in addition to barring rickety and road unworthy trucks and articulated vehicles from operating under the new system, which reduced frequent cases of breakdowns with the attendant hitches, thus making the system more efficient.

Executive Director of the group, Engr. Nik Bernard, who spoke with our correspondent in an interview, commended the management of NPA for taking proactive steps toward rejigging and rebooting the operating systems of the scheme, which he attested has brought sanity once again to the seaport access roads.

According to him, “beyond insinuations in some quarters, the ‘eto’ has recorded measurable achievements, with far- reaching impacts on the maritime industry, especially in terms of efficiency in the movement of cargo in and out of the nation’s seaports.”

He cited the sudden disappearance of the seemingly intractable gridlock in Apapa, which followed the deployment of more infrastructure and technology by the new management, a development that curtailed the influx of trucks and articulated vehicles, thus reducing the traffic congestion on port access roads.

“We cannot forget so soon that before June last year, it took several hours to drive from the Ijora axis to the seaport in Apapa because of the gridlock. Today, that gridlock has disappeared.

“To say that the ‘eto’ has not recorded huge successes especially in reducing road traffic and ensuring hitch-free evacuation of cargo is to be economical with the truth because these successes are physical and measurable even for the most cynic to see and appreciate”, he further argued

The new management of NPA had also last year in line with the policy of rejigging and rebooting of the ‘eto’ systems, embarked on ‘operation green’, through which it cleared many shanties and illegal structures on port access roads, which also enhanced the free flow of traffic on the port access roads.

Engr. Bernard, who operates a haulage and logistics business, also noted that with the deployment of Information Communication Technology ICT infrastructure under the ‘eto’ has for the first time in a very long while, brought sanity to the port access roads, which has also brought about proper traffic management systems.

He noted that the cumulative effects of these successes have led to a sharp drop in the cost of haulage by over 35 per cent, which he described as a welcome development.

He said: “For the first time, a truck driver can say with almost certainty the number of hours it would take him to pick or drop a consignment from the seaport in Apapa to any part of Lagos, as against the previous situation where a driver spends over seven days trying to access the seaport to pick or drop cargo.

“Expectedly, the truck driver has no reason to inflate his haulage charges, given that his turn around time is now very low, which indicates that he could do two or three trips in one day unlike the previous situation where he spent several days on queue trying to get into the ports. All these developments are verifiable and the results are there even for the blind man to see”.

Available statistics show that before now, it costs over N1million to transport a 40-foot container from the Lagos Ports Complex, Apapa to somewhere in Mile2, Festac or Maza- Maza area of Lagos, which has declined to less than N300, 000 or less as a result of quick turnaround for the truckers occasioned by the improved traffic flow under the ‘eto’ system.

He therefore enjoined the NPA management to sustain these achievements and also ensure that the era of extortion by some unscrupulous security operatives does not return. He also pleaded with the Lagos State Government to woke in partnership with the Federal Government to ensure that the road rehabilitation work on the Tin Can Island Port and Cocoa Nut axis was completed before the end of the first quarter of 2022 so that the ‘eto’ system would also be deployed on that port corridor.