By Steve Agbota, Lagos
The management of Truck Transit Park (TTP) Limited has decried the destruction of infrastructure being used for the electronic call-up system at Tin Can Port, Lagos by hoodlums and truck drivers.
The electronic truck call-up system, known as ètò, was introduced by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in February to manage the movement of trucks around the port corridors in Apapa.
Prior to the deployment of this system, both the NPA and Trucks Transit Parks Limited, who are the technology company and owners of the ètò solution, had carried out sensitisation campaign since October 2020 on how the system works, how it will create more opportunities for haulage operators and ultimately improve Nigeria’s economy.
However, despite the sensitisation, the management of the TTP has complained that touts and malicious actors have continued to sabotage the ètò system.
The TTP decried that its staff on the ground at the exit gates of the Tin Can Port have been severally threatened by touts who vowed to pull down the barrier so that they can carry out their illegal activities of entry and exit without the ètò call-up.
The TPP has also lamented that the open sabotage of the call-up system is a sad development and a stark reminder of the prevalence of corruption.
In a video sent to our correspondent by the management, a Caterpillar truck driver on Tuesday, October 12, was seen to have deliberately rammed into the access barrier at the Abuja exit gate of Tin Can Island Port destroying the infrastructure.
The driver had claimed that the truck’s brakes had failed. However, in the video after the accident, he was clearly seen driving the truck steadily and in control, without any indication of any faulty braking system.
Checks by our correspondent from the video confirmed that the Caterpillar driver approached the barrier from the side of the barrier, not in front or from behind, he drove from the side at a rather awkward angle.
The Caterpillar truck did not proceed towards the concrete fence just beyond the barrier, a fact that would be evident if it was indeed a case of a failed braking system.
The TTP management has confirmed that the Caterpillar truck driver has been apprehended and handed over to the police, describing the open sabotage of the call-up system as a sad development.
