In response to the lamentations of truckers and maritime transport operators over what they described as exploitation, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has disclosed plans to address the rising charges of the Eto electronic truck call-up system come January 2026.
The Eto call-up system is an electronic system designed to manage truck movements into the Lagos ports, aiming to reduce traffic congestion and promote efficient cargo evacuation. Introduced by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in partnership with Truck Transit Park Limited (TTP) in February 2021, the system was aimed at curbing traffic congestion on port roads.
However, truckers have lamented that from the original cost of N10,000, they now pay as much as N25,000 to N60,000 per trip and up N200,000 for fast track access.
In a stakeholders meeting at the Council’s headquarter in Apapa, Lagos, on Friday, the Director of Regulatory Services, Mrs. Margaret Ogbonna, confirmed that the Council have been bombarded with reports that the cost of Eto call-up ticket with an introductory cost of ₦10,000 has remained on the rise.
Ogbonna who spoke on behalf of the NSC Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Pius Akutah, assured stakeholders that the Council is on top of it and hopefully to conclude in January next year.
She disclosed that the Shippers Council had already invited TTP, the operator of the Eto system, and NPA on the issue but that the NPA did not attend the meeting.
“We have heard about the Eto call-up ticket charges. We invited TTP and NPA for discussions. TTP honoured the invitation, but NPA did not,” she said.
“We are aware that when the system started, the charge was ₦10,000, but what we are hearing now goes beyond approved increases, with other groups allegedly exploiting the process at port gates.”
She assured stakeholders that the Council, as the Port Economic Regulator, is actively working toward a resolution. According to him, a formal decision on the Eto charges is expected before the end of January, following the conclusion of consultations.
To buttress this, Ogbonna urged stakeholders to submit invoices and documentary evidence of the disputed charges to enable the Council conduct a factual review rather than rely on rumours. “By January, the Council is set to look into and review the Eto call-up charges. We need evidence; actual invoices so we can study and challenge the nomenclatures appropriately,” she said.
However, effort to reach the NPA proved abortive as the General Manager Public Affairs, Mr. Ikechukwu Onyemakara, neither picked his calls nor responded the text messages sent to him in this regard.