Lagos mandates e-call-up for trucks June 16

.Lekki residents back policy, demand urgent implementation

.As Lagos tanker drivers threaten to stop fuel loading over fees

The Lagos State Government said the rising traffic from articulated trucks on the Lekki-Epe corridor has prompted enforcement of a technology-based electronic call-up system.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, disclosed this on Sunday in a statement by Mrs Bolanle Ogunlola, Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of Transportation.

Osiyemi revealed that enforcement of the e-call-up system will begin from Monday, June 16, to manage truck movement in the affected corridor.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Lekki-Epe axis hosts major investments including the Dangote Refinery, Lekki Deep Sea Port, and key oil and gas infrastructure.

Due to the presence of only one major exit route, Osiyemi noted that industrial growth has intensified congestion in the area.

He said urgent and proactive traffic management measures are required to address the worsening situation on the corridor.

According to him, 360 to 400 trucks currently operate daily, but this figure could increase significantly with full operations at the Dangote Refinery.

The refinery alone could dispatch between 3,000 and 4,000 trucks daily, Osiyemi said, highlighting the need for regulation.

He said the e-call-up system will help regulate truck movement through structured scheduling, reducing chaos on the roads.

“Truck operators will be required to register online and upload their Authority to Load (ATL) documents for verification.

“Only validated and cleared trucks will access designated parks, awaiting an electronic call-up notification before proceeding to their loading points,” he said.

This system, Osiyemi said, is designed to reduce illegal parking, improve traffic flow, and protect road infrastructure along the corridor.

The commissioner described the initiative as a bold step towards transforming logistics and transport management across Lagos, especially in fast-developing areas like Lekki-Epe.

Osiyemi called for voluntary compliance from all stakeholders to ensure the system’s success and reduce traffic challenges in the region.

However, The Lekki Estates Residents and Stakeholders Association (LERSA), has backed up the Lagos State Government’s reintroduction of the E-Call Up system set to become operational from June 16, along the Lekki-Epe corridor.

Alhaji Sulyman Bello, President, LERSA, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, in Lagos.

NAN reports that the E-Call-Up system is a scheduling platform that controls when and how trucks gain access to loading points.

Bello said that the implementation of the E-Call Up system was an emergency antidote, which could not be subjected to any more delay.

According to him, the initiative is highly beneficial to the safety of lives, properties, businesses and infrastructure across the Lekki Epe corridor.

He said the system, which regulated the movement of articulated trucks and tankers, would prevent return of chaotic traffic and infrastructure strain previously witnessed in the Lekki-Epe corridor.

He said that the E-Call Up system would also nullify the repeat of the terrifying Apapa experiences in the location.

“It has to be emphasised that our children, wards, spouses, neighbours and stakeholders would have been at the terrible receiving end of unregulated truck/tankers operations within the Lekki Peninsula.

“We, therefore, commend Gov. Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Lagos state transport ministry for the bold initiative which will benefit residents, businesses and stakeholders,” he said.

Bello said that the association was strongly opposed to any manifest or clandestine attempts to undermine, sabotage or otherwise frustrate the noble initiative.

He said that the E-Call Up system was designed to keep residents of the Lekki Peninsula safe.

He said that residents have had to contend with the increased trucking activities with corresponding upsurge in road accidents and pollution of the environment.

Bello said he that trucking activities had also led to unwarranted damage to public infrastructures and incessant traffic gridlock running into several hours with attendant loss of revenue and productivity.

“Having children in school buses spend three hours in the morning and four hours on the homeward journey has become a reality that perpetually saddens parents and other residents of the Lekki Peninsula.

“The health and safety of Lekki residents and commuters must never be compromised.

“This initiative is long overdue, but its success hinges on decisive and inclusive implementation,” he said.

Bello urged partners in the logistics and petroleum sectors to embrace dialogue over disruption to enhance its successful implementation.

He implored all stakeholders and parties to allow its implementation to proceed as scheduled on June 16, even as dialogue on any grey areas continued.

“Without any shred of doubt, the implementation of the E-Call Up system is an emergency antidote, which cannot be subjected to any more delay.

“The association pledges its continued commitment to engaging all stakeholders to ensure a safe, efficient,and economically viable transportation ecosystem within the Lekki-Epe axis,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tanker drivers in Lagos State say they will stop loading petroleum products on Monday, claiming they cannot afford N12,500 per truck for the E-Call Up system on the Lekki-Epe Corridor.

Recently, the Lagos Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, said the E-Call Up system was designed to regulate the movement of articulated vehicles and tankers accessing the corridor, thereby promoting orderly traffic flow and preventing the kind of gridlock previously experienced in the Apapa area.

However, the tanker drivers, under the aegis of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, said they could only pay N2,500 per truck.

In a brief interview with our correspondent on Sunday, NARTO President Yusuf Othman said the association was still in talks with the Lagos State Government to allow its members to pay N2,500 per truck instead of N12,500.

“For now, we are still negotiating with the Lagos State Government. The N12,500 is too high. We recommended N2,500 from the beginning. Let’s see how it goes and if we can reach an amicable resolution. But if the government does not agree, our boys will not go and load tomorrow,” Othman said.

Reacting, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Olawale Musa, said the N12,500 was not going into government coffers.

According to Musa, the money was for the use of the facility built for the drivers in the Lekki axis to avert gridlocks and environmental pollution.