By Kenneth Jukpor
Despite the claims by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to singlehanded own and operate a centralized truck call-up system, trucking groups in Lagos have urged the Authority to register other parks having identified 53 other truck parks.
The National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) submitted a list of fifty-three (53) truck parks to NPA as part of efforts to prevent the multiplicity of unverified truck parks approved as designated locations to obtain call-ups under the Navy regime.
The trucking group expressed confidence in the new manual truck call-up system, commending NPA for its vision to convert the Lilypond Terminal to a Truck Transit Park for call-ups.
Speaking with MMS Plus on this issue last week, the Chairman, Dry Cargo Section of NARTO, Alhaji Inuwa Mohammed revealed that NARTO had submitted a list of 53 truck parks to NPA, stating that NPA’s decision to centralize the generation of call-ups may cause another traffic gridlock at Lilypond.
Recall that the group had criticized the Nigerian Navy for registering over two-hundred (200) fake truck parks where call-ups could be generated; a decision which saw trucks troop back to the ports without call-up and fueled the extortion by security operatives on the port access roads.
It was as a result of the myriad of complaints from truckers and other stakeholders on the Navy’s mismanagement of the manual truck call-up system that NPA decided to centralize the generation of truck call-up at the ports.
The Executive Director, Marine and Operations at NPA, Dr. Sekonte Davies stressed this when addressing port stakeholders on the operationalization of the Lilypond and Tin Can Second Gate truck parks recently.
Although the NPA Executive Director revealed that as part of efforts to curb the numerous challenges associated with the manual call-up system at the Lagos ports, NPA would operate one centralized truck call-up owned and managed by the Authority, he couldn’t explain why the Navy was allowed to operate a monopoly of registering truck parks and managing the truck call-up system.
“The last regime was an aberration because only NPA should be issuing call-up. This is what we intend to achieve with a centralized call-up system solely owned and managed by NPA” he told MMS Plus.
