Truckers Decry Blotch Campaign against NPA’sEto Call-up System,Stages Solidarity Rally

Eromosele Abiodun

Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) and the Lagos State Trucks and Cargo Operators Committee (LASTCOC), have strongly condemned what they described as campaign of calumny aimed at discrediting the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) electronic call-up system popularly called  ‘Eto’.

The truckers who stated this during a peaceful solidarity rally at the Apapa ports, unanimously declared their vote of confidence in the ‘Eto’ system. The demonstration underscored the system’s significant positive impact since its introduction by the NPA.

Speaking, the Secretary General of AMATO, Mohamed Sani Bala, said truckers are fully in support of the electronic call-up system adding that the electronic call-up initiative has tackled the perennial Apapa gridlock and Tin-Can port access roads.

According to the frontline trucker, the Eto Call-up System is not just an app but a game-changer and a landmark achievement in the history of Nigeria’s maritime logistics. 

He stated further that the impact of eliminating gridlock and improving traffic flow along logistics corridors has made import and export cargoes evacuated seamlessly.

According to him, “On behalf of the trucking community, we wish to use this peaceful rally as a platform to express our profound gratitude to the management of NPA for the deployment of the Eto Call-Up System, and to also appreciate the Lagos State Government for its vital role in enforcing compliance with the Standard Operating Procedures that underpin the system.

“The Eto Call-Up System is more than just an app — it is a game-changer and a landmark achievement in the history of Nigeria’s maritime logistics. It has ushered in a new era of automation, transparency, and efficiency in port access and truck scheduling, resolving the long-standing chaos and gridlock that plagued the Apapa and Tin Can Island logistics corridors for decades.”

He added, “Today, truckers can book port access slots remotely and affordably, from anywhere in the world, without the need to physically queue for days on end or engage with road cabals for access tags that used to cost between N250,000 and N300,000, often without any certainty of progress. The Eto system, at a flat rate of N21,500, has eliminated the extortion and exploitation that defined the manual era.”

Speaking further, Sani-Bala said the port corridors are now more fluid, the environment is more hospitable, with a rising value of properties.

“Gridlock has eased, and sanity has returned to our roads and truckers no longer sleep in vehicles or die behind the wheel from exhaustion. Port corridors are now more fluid, and the environment is more hospitable.

“Import and export cargoes are evacuated seamlessly while businesses now operate on schedule. Apapa, once a ghost town, is vibrant again, with rising property values and restored community life.Children can now safely attend school without being stranded in traffic. This is the kind of transformational impact that meaningful reform delivers,” he said.

The AMATO scribe took a swipe at the recent campaign of calumny against the call-up system, saying the interest of the sponsors of the campaign lies in reversing the clock to a time when truckers were extorted and exploited under the guise of port access facilitation.

“We are aware that some individuals are sponsoring a campaign of calumny against the Eto system. Let it be known that these detractors are largely beneficiaries of the discredited manual system — now rendered irrelevant by automation. Their interest lies in reversing the clock to a time when truckers were extorted and exploited under the guise of port access facilitation.

“It is ironic, and frankly shameful, that those who once charged N250,000–N300,000 for truck entry now accuse the N21,500 Eto system of being fraudulent. If they truly had truckers’ interests at heart, they would have implemented a fair and transparent system during their time.

“We urge all members of the trucking community to remain vigilant. The call-up automation is here to stay — and we must resist all attempts to undermine the progress it represents. The manual call-up system is dead and buried, and any nostalgia for that era must give way to the reality of sustainable, tech-driven port logistics,” he said.