ETO welcomes constructive criticism

By Gboyega Oni

An idea, however profitable or laudable it is, is doomed to fail when a set of powerful individuals who feel their interests are not captured in it begin to raise eyebrows about it. In a twinkle of an eye, all sorts of allegations would begin to fly around discrediting it and calling on the government to either review it or cancel it outright.

Their singular ultimate selfish goal is, oftentimes, to displace the original helpless promoters of the idea and possibly hijack the contract emanating therefrom. Sometimes, government may ignore everyone and take over the project.

The recent harsh criticisms and cries against ETO System bode no good to the peace and orderliness that maritime stakeholders and the generality of port users now enjoy. It could self destruct, it could sabotage government’s renewed hope for a reinvigorated maritime industry as encapsulated in the Marine Blue Economy Blueprint.

If such a novel tech that helped the nation end the protracted and near intractable traffic gridlocks around Lagos ports is allowed to go under because of the ulterior selfish motives of a few disgruntled individuals, Nigeria and major stakeholders may face dire economic and financial consequences.

Firstly, the traffic gridlock would return and harm port business. Ship turn around times would drag and Nigeria and foreign shipping lines would slam extra charges on Nigerian shippers for delay.

Secondly, the over all repercussions on the Nigerian economy and the populace will manifest through inflation and widespread hardships.

A few years ago, the two Lagos seaports in Apapa and Tin Can Island were held in the jugular by traffic gridlocks. In the thick of the gridlocks, it took many days for trucks to go in and out of the ports. Vessels spent days at anchorage as the ports were filled up with unclaimed containers. Prices of trucking rose prohibitively, by as much as 300 percent.

The port city of Apapa was completely deserted by residents and many companies relocated to other places in Lagos. Social life disappeared as the traffic gridlock defied solutions.

However, thankfully, with the advent of Trucks Transit Parks, TTP, and its lT tool, the Electronic Call Up System, otherwise known as ETO, the traffic menace was eventually put out. There was a free flow of traffic once again in and out of the ports of Apapa and Tincan through the two large port access roads of Mile 2 and ljora. Turnaround times of vessels and cargo improved, which resultantly lowered trucking bills.

Allegations against ETO by COMTUA

When did things go so wrong for ETO that it suddenly became the butt of series of allegations from some stakeholders particularly truckers and freight forwarders? Transporters alleged that the ETO, instead of aiding free flow of traffic, was rather abetting fraud, extortion, and inefficiency, failing to address the very congestion problems it was designed to mitigate.

A report of allegations in a letter to the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority by the National President of Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Associations (COMTUA), Mr. Adeyinka Aroyewun, reads thus: “Over the past four years, this system has been marred by serious allegations of fraud, extortion, and inefficiency, failing to address the very congestion problems it was designed to mitigate. Numerous stakeholders, including truck owners, logistics companies, and port operators, have reported persistent issues related to the unreliable and corrupt practices associated with the system. It is evident that rather than facilitating smoother operations, the current contract has exacerbated the challenges faced by maritime transport in Nigeria.

“We have documented numerous instances where the electronic call-up system has fallen short, leading to increased waiting times, unnecessary financial burdens on transporters, and significant disruptions in our supply chain. The detrimental impact of this contract has not only frustrated operators but has also resulted in economic losses that ripple throughout the industry and beyond.”

A good product becomes better and better when it is constructively criticised, its defects pointed out and solutions to them are provided. Criticisms trailing ETO now are welcomed but the critics, the ETO users, should be able to provide solutions to make it better rather than looking for a way to silence it as OMSL was silenced permanently over the Secure Anchorage Area.

I asked Mr. Adeyinka Aroyewun what he and his COMTUA exactly wanted the NPA to do as their demands in the letter to the NPA Managing Director, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho. I also asked him to provide alternative and if he and his association had considered engaging the ETO service provider, Trucks Transit Parks, in a tete a tete on how to solve the identified problems. Here are his responses.

NPA needs to act as follows:
1. Act mainly within their jurisdiction. Approval of garages by the NPA is illegal and exploitative.

2. NPA needs to purge itself of the revenue generation tendencies and concentrate on regulations.

3. NPA should allow terminal operators to determine what vehicles that will visit and leave their premises.

4. The personnel deployed by NPA outside its jurisdiction to places like SIFAX, SUNRISE, IJORA etc are more useful within their own facility.

5. NPA should engage critical and genuine stakeholders, not the current selective stakeholders on their payroll that they always engage.

What all parties should do – TTP
An insider source within TTP reliably told PortNews that everyone keeps calling TTP all sorts of names but forgetting that the call up is a joint system that involves many parties and all the parties are required to play their parts, not only TTP.

The insider source said the ETO system is an end to end process; it starts from TTP, it ends with terminal operators who determine movement of trucks into their terminals to pick cargo. Efficiency does not end with TTP but terminals should be asked to be more efficient, adding that NPA has a duty to answer all the questions raised by stakeholders.

According to the source, the tech, ETO, which is TTP’s responsibility is working 100% effectively, asking why stakeholders are not urging NPA to sanction terminals that are not up-to-date on their operations.

According to the source , “Everyone keeps calling TTP forgetting that the call up is a joint system requiring all parties to play their parts. They need to begin asking the terminals to be more efficient. They need to ask NPA why terminals that are inefficient are not sanctioned.

“The tech, which is TTP’s responsibility, is working 100% effectively. All the necessary tools and party needed for the call up system as a whole to work need to be addressed from regulations, to terminal efficiency to approval of new technology like etag to enforcement. All need to be addressed.”

The source added that “NPA is the regulator, it needs to be answering these questions.”

Verdict
ETO is a tool that has technologically revolutionised trucking activities in and out of the nation’s seaports. With it, truckers know when to come to the port to pick their cargoes unlike in the past. Such a technology, powered by Nigerians, deserves the support of all stakeholders – NPA, TTP, Terminals, Truckers and Freight Forwarders. It must not be allowed to die.

TPP should not shy away from addressing stakeholders, either COMTUA or freight forwarders, on what they should know about ETO operations. It has a duty to allay their fears so as to create a lasting bond between TTP and the stakeholders – truckers and freight forwarders.

The NPA, as the regulator, must act fast to assist TTP in addressing all the fears of truckers and freight forwarders. NPA must take necessary actions to educate whoever is behind all these distractive allegations. It must ensure that terminal operators do the needful to make the call up of truckers into their terminals effective and efficient.

Criticise ETO but don’t let it die. Its demise is not in the interest of Nigeria.