The Council of Maritime Transport Union and Association (COMTUA) has accused the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) of festering extortion along the Mile 2 to Tin-Can ports access roads, saying unless the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) E-Call-Up system, popularly called Eto, is unbundled, corruption will persist along the port corridor.
Speaking in Lagos during the maiden edition of the 2021 Delegate Convention of COMTUA, President of the association, Mr. Thompson Olaleye explained that if another company was saddled to handle the Tin-Can section of the ports while the Trucks Transit Park (TTP), operators of the Eto focuses on Apapa, the issue of extortion and other vices undermining the efficiency of the E-call-up system would be addressed.
Açcording to the COMTUA President, “Two of the initial founding members of COMTUA have pulled out. These two groups decided to leave COMTUA because we agreed that no association should be collecting money along the ports access roads again.
“The aggrieved groups, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) rejected our decision to stop the collection of money along the ports access roads. They said it is a major means through which they get revenue to fund their operations.
“After fruitless efforts to make them see reason, they have left COMTUA and as I speak to you, their members are on the roads between Mile 2 and Tin-Can, collecting money from truckers.
“However, three new associations have joined COMTUA. We have the Logistics Practitioners Association of Nigeria (LPAN), Young Truck Owners Association and the entire corporate bodies of truckers which includes Dangote, BUA, Flourmills amongst others
“The issue of extortion along the ports access roads is a major reason why the NPA E-call-up system needs to be unbundled. It seems the entire space is too big for the E-call-up manager, the TTP to manage. If another company is allowed to handle Tin-Can while TTP focuses on Apapa, the issue of extortion and other discrepancies won’t exist.
“If there is competition, the managers of the TTP will deliver in a better way. Imagine, from Mike 2 down to Tin-Can, there is nothing like a central control system where anybody is checking truckers documents or papers. Rather, what you will see are illegal checkpoints mounted by some associations that have pulled out of the COMTUA, collecting different monies from port users.
“If Eto is unbundled, there will be competition. The traffic managers will perform more effectively. Currently, the entire port area seems to be too big for just one company to handle.”
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