E-Call up system: NPA to impound trucks without call up papers
…Approves 8 truck parks
By Seun Ibiyemi
In a bid to tackle gridlock at the seaport and its environment, the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) has said that trucks without call-up found on the port access road will be impounded.
This is coming as the agency licensed eight Truck parks, to flag off its February 27th Electronic call-up system.
Speaking at a zoom meeting with journalist on Monday, the NPA Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman said her management actually eyed 13 truck parks at the point of advertisement, but only eight qualified, out of those who applied.
She highlighted that with the E-Call-up system in place, the illegal movements of trucks within the ports’ corridor would become a thing of the past, the road would witness only trucks already cleared to be on the roads.
“Any truck that has not been called up, but found on the road would be impounded,” she said.
She added that a little penalty fee may then be administered, to deter any reoccurrence.
The Managing Director also hinted that she had drawn a policy on the issue of returning empty Container to Shipping companies; and emphasized her determination to equally wield the big stick to enforce it.
“Shipping companies have made a lot of money from container deposit,” she observed; and noted that “every Shipping Company has been mandated to acquire a container holding bay, which must accommodate an equivalent of 65 percent of the cargo containers it off-load.”
She stressed on a fightback, by way of resistance, maintaining that port authorities are prepared for such; even as she expressed satisfaction that the big Shipping companies were already complying.
She, however, warned that any Shipping Company that failed to comply may have its Approval to operate withdrawn.
It is expected that when the E-call up system begins on February 27th, the traffic situation in Apapa, Lagos would become better managed.
“In the new regime, a shipper would actually take out the Container with the cargo, off-load your cargo and return the container to the shipping Company’s Holden bay and thereafter go for your deposit. How the shipping company gets the container to the port or ship would remains the exclusive headache of the shipping company.”
It would be recalled that the Presidential Task Team had waged a successful war which brought the Apapa gridlock to its knees, before handing it over to the Lagos State Government to co-manage, with the Nigerian Ports Authority.
One of the recommendations of the PTT was that the Authority would introduce and run an E-Call-up regime, which would ensure that no unauthorised trucks are allowed to be within the ports axis, let alone clog the routes and ignite another gridlock.
