The leadership of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has accused the police and of officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) of extortion.
The also decried the involvement of the two security agencies in the control of trucks into the port, saying it has worsened the traffic situation along the port access roads.
Task Force Chairman, Mr. Hassan Adekoya, said the officials now process Electronic Call-Up system, called ‘ETO’ tickets, as long as the truck owner is able to pay their charges.
He said the unregulated activities of the Police and LASTMA officials have created more problems for the implementation of the eCall-Up system introduced by the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, and powered by the Transit Truck Park Limited.
He also blamed the worsened traffic gridlock around the Mile-2 on the extortion by security agencies and the recent protest embarked upon by Customs agents, a development that has stopped the movement of trucks in and out of the ports in Lagos.
A truck owner, Alhaji Tufa Akum, said that most trucks owners have abandoned the electronic call up system introduced by the NPA and patronizing LASTMA officials for their Eto tickets as they are now being processed right on the streets of Apapa.
Akum said: “To park on the port access roads, a truck driver or owner will pay between N25, 000 and N30,000 but for a sum of N120,000, your truck is allowed to park on the access and have Eto ticket processed and handed over to you. That is how bad it has become.
“A lot of unwholesome things are happening along the port corridor and the situation is getting worse.”
Also speaking, a truck driver, Abdullahi Azeez, who spoke to Vanguard, said: “Corruption has returned to Apapa. The miscreants and their agents are back on the road extorting us again. We are back to the former arrangement. ETO has failed again.”
But the Chairman of Lagos State Special Traffic Management Team and Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Toyin Fayinka, was yet to respond to messages sent to his mobile phone on the situation along the Oshodi Apapa Expressway.
