A major scandal is brewing at the Apapa Ports in Lagos as the Managing Director of Trucks Transit Parks (TTP), Jama Onwubuariri, has accused corrupt government cartels of deliberately frustrating the E-call-up system to maintain their illicit grip on truck access operations.
In a bombshell revelation, Onwubuariri claimed that individuals within government agencies, in collaboration with private actors, are sabotaging the electronic system that was designed to streamline truck movements and eliminate congestion. He alleged that these corrupt elements, who previously extorted truckers for as much as N250,000 to N300,000 per trip under the manual call-up system, are actively working to ensure the failure of the digitized process.
“Some of these individuals are still embedded within government agencies. When approvals for innovation come to them, their recommendations are negative because they were benefiting from the old corrupt system,” he stated.
The TTP boss lamented that despite implementing over 160 upgrades to the ETO app since its launch in 2021, vested interests continue to undermine the initiative. He warned that these saboteurs are intent on maintaining the chaos that allows them to exploit truckers, clogging port access roads and worsening the country’s logistical crisis.
With Nigeria’s import and export activities increasing, Onwubuariri stressed that the E-call-up system is more necessary than ever. However, the powerful forces resisting the change have raised serious concerns about the government’s ability—or willingness—to eliminate corruption within its own ranks.
As stakeholders call for accountability, many are left wondering: Will the Nigerian government take decisive action, or will the saboteurs succeed in dragging the Apapa Ports back into an era of lawless extortion?
