The electronics call-up truck management system introduced by the Lagos State Government to prevent gridlock in the Lekki Port corridor appears to be facing significant challenges as key stakeholders disagree on implementation, several years after the programme was initiated.
The two key stakeholders are Lagos State Government which is the owner and driver of the initiative, and Dangote Group, the dominant operator on the corridor, according to Vanguard.
It was reported that while the state government wants to on-board every stakeholder opearating in that axis on the call-up system, Dangote Group said it could not come onboard because governmnent did not provide adequate truck park capacity.
Since the commencement of operations at the Dangote Refinery a week ago, trucking activities have surged significantly.
However, the electronic call-up truck management system has yet to be implemented, and no alternative measures have been put in place to manage the resulting traffic challenges.
This situation raises concerns about the potential for severe congestion in the Lekki Port corridor.
The Managing Director of Call-up Technologies, promoters of the e-call-up system, Mr. Timi Koledu stated that all aspects of the system are prepared and that the necessary IT equipment has been properly deployed.
This suggests that the infrastructure for the electronic call-up truck management system is in place, yet operational challenges and stakeholder disagreements remain unresolved.
With traffic issues looming, it was reported that a stakeholders meeting was held last week at the Lagos State Secretariat in Ikeja.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Seun Osiyemi, at the meeting announced that the e-call-up system for traffic management would begin today, September 23, 2024.
He emphasized that any necessary corrections would be addressed as the system operates.
During the meeting, Mr. Yinka Akande, representing the Dangote Group, highlighted that a truck park was initially part of the refinery’s plan. He mentioned that the company was prepared to build its own park but was advised against it by the state government, which expressed its intention to create truck parks to support all operations in the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
It was also learnt that Akande insinuated that the invitation to Dangote Group for the meeting was an after-thought because it only got the notice less than 48 hours before the meeting adding, however, that because the group has respect for constituted authorities, it had to find its way round constraints by getting a high executive to discard all other pre-scheduled engagements to attend the meeting.
He stated “Dangote Group is desirous of the call-up system but we have a problem about the sequencing of activities and where the priority seems to be.
“A precursor activity happened before your regime, before you came into power,” apparently referring to present government under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
“We have already acquired a 33-hectare piece of land in the vicinity for the purpose of building a modern truck park but the governor dissuaded us from that, saying, “don’t worry, the state government is in participation with some private entity and we are going to put a very standard truck park in place; all you need to do is to be off-takers’.
“So the governor said, ‘concentrate on your construction of the refinery; This is logistics and logistics is not your core function, leave that to us’.
“We agreed. But years after, nothing happened, it has not materialized and that put us in a twist. And we started running helter-skelter wanting to identify where trucks would park because we do not want a repetition of what happened in Apapa and because we are a responsible organization.”
He added “We have had so many meetings with Call Technologies team, promoters of the E-call-up system, and we have been ready to key into the project but where are the parks?
“We went to investigate the parks and we found out that the scale and scope of the parks were nowhere near what we require. We are talking about an operations that when it comes to peak of production, we will need 2,700 to 2,800 trucks per day.
“There are ten parks and the park with the highest capacity is 300 trucks, so we are more desirous of putting more efforts on the development of these parks and once they are ready, we will be very ready to be onboard the e-call-up match up within our system. We are very desirous to be part of this after everything has been put in place, but we do not seem to have seen that everything has been put in place. We may be wrong but that is our perception and that is why we have come today.”
Responding to Akande, Special Assistant to the Governor on Transportation, Mr. Sola Giwa, assured stakeholders that the call-up system is the best way to control and manage the influx of trucks into that axis, adding that government wants to ensure that both human and vehicular traffic have unfettered access to the roads.
He stated “We understand where you are coming from and we appreciate what Dangote has done and obviously, what is going to happen in that area is nothing compared to what happened to Apapa and Ijegun combined if we do not start the e-call-up system now.
“We understand very well that all the bolts and nuts should be in place, but I am coming from the experience of how we started late in Apapa several years after the ports were concessioned. So we are actually playing catch-up. We do not want to play catch-up, let us start; we know there will be teething problems; we have met with everyone here more than ten times. That is a government that is serious; we are showing that we are proactive but we know that we cannot coarse you into this; you have to be our willing partner to make this work and that is the reason why we are here to start the process.
“We have about ten truck parks and in total, they have over 2,000 capacity and there is room for expansion.”
Osiyemi added that Dangote Group is the only company that has not complied with the e-call-up system due to the concerns they have raised regarding the implementation and infrastructure.
He further revealed that there was a stalemate between Dangote and the state government regarding the e-call-up system, leading to the project’s suspension.
He mentioned that trucks would need to be stationed up to 15 kilometers away from the port corridor and would only be allowed to enter when needed.
Additionally, he noted that the government is in discussions with a private company to transport containers via waterways.
“We are not just looking at the land, we are looking at a multi-modal system. We are having a high level discussion with a private company that will take containers via water to reduce the stress on the road,” he said.
The National President of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, Mr. Yusuf Lawal, said that one grey area that is yet to be cleared is the issue of the fee payable for the call-up service.
Lawal stated that many members of NARTO have not been informed about the fees associated with the e-call-up system.
He emphasized the need for increased sensitization and awareness to ensure that all stakeholders are aligned and fully informed.
