- Expose alleged corruption among terminal operators
- Electronic Call-Up system not addressing traffic gridlock – Stakeholders
- We don’t manage operations within port terminals – ETO Operator
Truck owners and other operators at the Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports in Lagos have cried out against an alleged cartel responsible for cargo congestion at the facilities.
With freight forwarders spending days to evacuate containers already released by Customs, they said businesses were losing money to demurrage and storage charges due to the congestion delays.
Some of the operators, who spoke with THE POINT at the weekend, blamed the worsening cargo congestion at the Port facilities on the illegal activities of the cartel.
They said that amid low volume of cargo throughput in the country, congestion of trucks laden with or without cargoes at Lagos Ports had continued to increase daily, contrary to the general belief that increase in congestion of trucks was as a result of increase in seaborne trade.
They lamented that the long queues of these trucks had not only posed concerns to all port users, it had imposed hardships on truck drivers, leading to environmental issues, traffic disruption among others.
According to investigations, on the average, nearly 60 percent of drivers claimed they spend more than 24 hours and more at Lagos Port gate, which according to them poses more threats to their businesses.
To address the escalating issue, the Nigerian Port Authority, in collaboration with Lagos State Government, introduced an Electronic Call Up system in February 2021, a digital platform that uses apps to schedule and coordinate entry and exit of trucks into Apapa and TinCan Ports.
The ETO system, managed by Truck Transit Park, was introduced to reduce traffic gridlock around the ports, cut cargo dwell time, improve turnaround time for trucks, and reduce the cost of moving cargo out of ports by 65 per cent.
“The failure of the Nigerian Ports Authority and the call up providers to provide a level playing field for users is also a cause of delay. In all, the call up system is not addressing any of the changes but to generate revenue.”
However, findings revealed that the system has not addressed its main purpose but has only served as another revenue point into government coffers.
While speaking with THE POINT, the National President, Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Associations, Adeyinka Aroyewun, argued that the call up system as introduced by NPA, and managed by TTP was more of a revenue generation project than solving the problems as it affects truckers and the maritime industry.
Aroyewun said the Terminals and not the NPA should be in charge of call up for trucks.
“While Terminals have their schedule, the call up as provided by the Nigerian Ports Authority violates the schedule sometimes and makes a mockery of the entire exercise.
“The system is corrupt such that priority is attached to some trucks over the other. There are preferential treatments. For instance, military trucks are moving without necessarily following the same process yet they perform the same private business as we do.
“The failure of the Nigerian Ports Authority and the call up providers to provide a level playing field for users is also a cause of delay. In all, the call up system is not addressing any of the changes but to generate revenue,” he stressed.
Similarly, The Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Truck and Cargo Committee, and also executive member, Association of Maritime Transport Owner, Seyi Adekanmbi, asserted that there was an increase in the cost of haulage due to congestion at the Port.
“The congestion made trucks not available for cargo evacuation from Port. There are not enough trucks to lift goods from the Port which makes the demand to be higher than the supplies of trucks and this leads to increase in cost of haulage.
“This can be addressed especially if there’s no human interference in the ETO system and I believe the reason behind this congestion is just to make more gains. I can tell you that AMATO and key stakeholders in the industry have brainstormed and resolved to use E-TAG, aimed at reducing human interference, with a level playing ground for everyone. We proposed the usage of E-TAG trucks and the NPA should give an order that the E- TAG should be rolled out.
“A committee was set up in 2023 to ensure the success of the scheduler system, ensure sanity in the supply and demand of trucks.
But along the line, some set of people sabotaged this project; manipulated the committee against each other which led to the idea that agents will start processing the call-up and not the truckers. This gave the agents an opportunity to make more money. In the long run, the committee could not speak with one voice and the dream of having a scheduler system crashed.
“Look at the E- tag NPA directed TTP to roll out, they stopped it by themselves,” Adekanmbi said.
The AP Moller Terminal is not left out in the blame game, as the LASTCOC PRO, maintained that the terminal had the capacity to mop up all trucks that come into the terminal but chose to reduce their productivity to give room for more revalidation since there was reduction in traffic volume.
“What they did was to move the revalidation charges from N11, 000 to N65, 000. They first pegged it at N100, 000 but we renegotiated and then it was pegged at N65, 000. This alone affects the economy. For example when a big company has about 100 containers at the Port which can be cleared within three days, you pay N11, 000 to clear each of these containers. But now, they ensure they create a bottleneck to ensure you end up not successfully clearing these containers until after 2-3 weeks. You can imagine how much will be made with the new rate. Remember the more your container stays in the Port, the more they revalidate the charges.
“They tried as much as possible to frustrate the seamless movement of trucks. They have about eight entrances into the terminal; they operate one and sometimes two. They did this because they want to be getting more money from revalidation. If the government wants the economy to be stabilized, the maritime industry should be stabilized too,” he stressed.
Adekanmbi urged the NPA to roll out truck scheduler and E-TAG as this will help reduce preferential treatments.
“We want the NPA to have genuine intentions, their personnel should be more patriotic and they should protect the economy. The Nigerian Shippers’ Council needs to rise up to the challenges and do the needful since they are officially the economic regulator,” he added.
However, when contacted by THE POINT, the Head of Operations, Trucks Transit Parks Ltd, Irabor Akonoman, argued that increase in haulage costs was primarily driven by market dynamics, including changes in fuel prices, operational costs, and economic conditions, which could not be controlled by TTP.
“TTP understands the challenges that transporters are facing with the rising cost majorly influenced by macroeconomic factors, and in partnership with the Nigerian Ports Authority, has continued to prioritise streamlining the electronic call-up process aimed at alleviating traffic within the port environment which has resulted in the improvement in cargo evacuation and turnaround time for trucks to access and exit the port,” he said.
“Sometimes you stay for more than one week at the gate here and I think they are deliberately delaying us for their own personal reasons. You will hear one complain today and another complain tomorrow. The authorities need to look into this for us.”
Akonoman explained that since the implementation of the call-up system, it had operated on the principle of fairness and quality of access for all truckers.
Trucks, according to him, are batched and released from satellite parks and predates on the basis of first in, first out via the automated sequencing system of the Eto technology.
“Meanwhile, there are certain cargoes delivered from ships directly to trucks due to the uniqueness of the cargoes and for operational reasons. The Nigerian Ports Authority reviews each request received and approves Direct Evacuation provided that it meets certain conditions.
“TTP’s systems are designed to reduce human interference through digital and automated processes. While human intervention may still occur in certain stages of port operations, it is not condoned where it detracts from efficiency. We work closely with the NPA and other stakeholders to identify and mitigate any unnecessary human involvement that could impact the smooth flow of cargo.
On Status of the E-tag and Scheduler System, Akonoman said the rollout of the E-tag had not commenced, as it was pending necessary approvals.
“The E-tag represents an important automation initiative that, once deployed, will curb many of the operational challenges being faced, including delays and interference. We remain committed to deploying this technology as soon as we receive regulatory clearance.
“TTP is continuously working to enhance the Eto call-up system to reduce delays and ensure a more organized flow of trucks. We advocate for greater involvement of consignees and customs agents in the e-call up system, as their collaboration can further smoothen processes. Our long-term vision is to build more automation across all touch points to minimize bottlenecks, improve efficiency, and ensure fair, transparent operations for all stakeholders,” he stated.
During a scheduled visit to Lagos Port Complex by THE POINT correspondent, many drivers lamented about the unnecessary delays they encountered without genuine reasons.
“Sometimes you stay for more than one week at the gate here and I think they are deliberately delaying us for their own personal reasons.
You will hear one complain today and another complain tomorrow. The authorities need to look into this for us. Many things are happening here, always come and observe once in a while to know what’s going on, thank you,” one of the truck owners noted.
They said that in less than one month, haulage charges from Apapa Port to importers’ warehouses in Lagos had risen by 100 per cent due to the interminable congestion that had made cargo evacuation nearly impossible.
Currently, they said haulage charge on a 40-foot container from Apapa Port to a warehouse in Lagos had risen to N700, 000 from an average of N350, 000 paid three weeks ago, representing a 100 per cent jump over the period.
Businesses are paying as much as N450,000 to move one 20-foot container to a warehouse in Lagos from between N200,000 and N250,000 charged three weeks ago.
“It took three days to load one 40-foot container at Apapa Port last week,” Tony Anakebe, a Customs licensed agent, said.
“I paid N700, 000 to move a 40-foot container from Apapa Port to a warehouse in Mushin, which used to be between N300, 000 and N400, 000 two weeks ago.
“If the situation continues, we will likely load a 40-foot container from Apapa Port to warehouses in Lagos for N1 million, just like we did at Tin-Can Island Port before Eto came onboard three years ago,” Anakebe added.
It now appears that this is a pre-Eto call-up system era. Before the introduction of the Eto call-up system for batching trucks in port in 2021, evacuating laden and export containers in and out of the port used to be a hard nut to crack due to the incessant congestions on the port access roads.
This ate into the wallets of importers who paid premiums to transport cargoes, losing billions of naira to demurrage and storage charges for delays in taking delivery of their consignments.
Anakebe confirmed that truck owners were complaining that they were not being issued call-up tickets at the Lilypond pre-gate at Ijora, which allowed trucks to access the port and take delivery of goods released by Customs.
A truck owner, Bala Mohammed, confirmed that importers now pay N700, 000 to move a 40-foot container from Apapa to Ikeja in Lagos.
He blamed the development on delays from terminals within Apapa Port, which, on different occasions, had forced managers of the call-up system to slow the number of trucks released from pre-gates.
The Managing Director of the Trucks Transit Parks Limited, operator of Eto call-up for truck batching, Jama Onwubuariri, said that his firm’s role was to manage port access by optimising truck movement into the port.
He said the company does not manage the operations within port terminals.
“Any inefficiency, including delays at specific terminals, falls within the responsibility of the terminal operators,” he said.
He assured that TTP was committed to working alongside operators and relevant authorities to support terminal efficiency and align operations to ensure smooth traffic management.
On the part of APM Terminals, operator of Apapa Container Terminal, Kayode Olufemi Daniels, head of Commercial, said at a recent stakeholders’ meeting on the workings of Eto that a deeper understanding of the system’s processes would help reduce operational complaints and alleviate congestion on port access roads.
Daniels clarified that delays were often attributed to the terminal operator, whereas enforcement practices play a more significant role in reality.
“Our goal is to create a transparent and accessible process that works seamlessly for everyone involved in the port ecosystem,” Daniels further said.
According to him, when customers know how to navigate the system, they can avoid unnecessary delays, reduce frustration, and contribute to a more organised flow of trucks into the terminal.
Apart from the delays in issuing Eto call-up tickets to truck owners and their ability to access the port, many other factors are also said to be working against the ease of doing business at the port today.
According to Anakebe, services of agencies like the Nigeria Customs and the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency are antithetical to the ease of doing business.
“Recently, NDLEA blocked my container of medicals from leaving the port after it was released by Customs. They have no right to impound containers released by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control,” he added.
Two weeks ago, the NPA temporarily suspended truck releases from the Lagos Port Complex pre-gate area due to severe congestion currently affecting the port.
This was stated in an official notice addressed to the Truck Transit Park, the traffic management firm responsible for coordinating truck movements along the Apapa port corridor, on October 29, 2024.
This development was expected to impact logistics, supply chains, and the overall efficiency of cargo movement in and out of one of Nigeria’s busiest ports.
The notice attributed the decision to ongoing severe congestion and explained that port management was closely monitoring the situation to determine when normal operations could resume.
The notice read in part, “Please be informed that there is a temporary hold on truck release from the Lagos Port Complex pre-gates due to ongoing congestion. We are closely monitoring the situation and will relax the hold as soon as conditions improve.”
The congestion has created a bottleneck at the port, delaying the flow of goods and hampering both local and international trade activities.
This has raised concerns across the logistics and transportation sectors, with various stakeholders warning of the economic impact of the congestion.
Reacting to the situation, an official of the Association of Maritime Transport Owners, Sani Mohammed, attributed the congestion to inefficiencies by terminal operators at the port.
According to him, the port’s operators have failed to manage the inflow and outflow of cargo effectively, exacerbating the congestion problem.
“What we are experiencing is a result of low efficiency by the terminal operators. They have not been able to facilitate the smooth movement of cargo, and yet, they still charge demurrage fees for the delays caused by their inefficiency,” Mohammed lamented.
