Lagos Suspends e-Call Up System on Lekki-Epe Corridor

The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Mr Olawale Musa, confirmed this development in a statement on Tuesday.

He said the policy was stopped after a meeting comprising representatives of the ministry and leaders of transport unions, including the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), and Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), a branch of NUPENG.

“Rising from the meeting which was held at the conference room of the Ministry of Transportation, Lagos State, the ministry yielded to the request of the union leaders to suspend enforcement of the e-call-up system to allow them further engagement with members of their unions.

“The unions promised to ensure parking compliance by their members while the engagement is ongoing,” the permanent secretary stated.

He added that the union leaders and representatives of the ministry agreed that the ministry would carry out enforcement in the event of violation of the agreement.

“All parties agreed with the importance of the e-call up system as the best solution for managing truck movement along Lekki-Epe corridor,” he said.

According to him, the meeting was also attended by the state Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi.

The technology-driven e-call-up system is meant to ensure seamless traffic flow on the corridor.

It was introduced in view of large vehicular traffic being generated by trucks accessing the Lekki Deep Seaport, Lekki Free Zone, Dangote Petroleum Refinery and some other industries within the axis.

However, it faced drawback from stakeholders who lamented that it was too difficult to operationalise and that there wasn’t enough engagement before the implementation of the policy.