Apapa branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers has appealed to the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Ports Authority to sustain enforcement of the new Electronic Call-Up System for trucks, codenamed Eto, to avert gridlock.
The Chairman of Apapa NSE, Christian Ufot, noted on Thursday that trucks, which were evacuated in the first week of enforcement, were gradually returning to highways.
Ufot urged the state government to remain resilient in enforcement to sustain the sanity achieved on the roads recently and prevent return of trucks on the highways.
He added, “One of the solutions that we proffered is the call-up system, which the NPA has already adopted in their relationship with the Lagos State Government.
“You can see in the last two to three weeks that traffic flow from Mile 2, in and out of Apapa, has been better than what it used to be because of the introduction of the new call-up system. So, we are expecting that if the implementation is sustained, there may be a lot of improvement in traffic flow within Apapa axis.”
According to Ufot, the trucks may come back to the roads, if there is no proper enforcement.
His words, “Lagos has a duty to maintain the regulations that they have imposed. As a state government, if that enforcement is not there, the truck owners and operators will continually default.
“We are calling for continuous enforcement; if you noticed, in the first week of enforcement, everywhere was cleared, but it seems in the second week there was relaxation. This morning, if you go from Mile 2, trailers are already building up again.”
The engineer pleaded with the state government to pay more attention to the platform.
“As a branch, we will continue to advocate and follow up with the establishments concerned,” he added.
Speaking on the expected role of the NPA, he appealed that there should be one rule on Eto for all, without compromise, to sustain efficiency.
