E-Call up: Lagos petrol tankers get 20% decrease, to pay ₦10,000

Lagos State Tanker drivers plying the Lekki-Epe axis will now pay ₦10,000 per truck to use parks constructed under the E-Call Up system. The payment adjustment commences on August 1, following last week’s strike action by the drivers.

According to reports, the move to reduce the levy from ₦12,500 to ₦10,000 stems from a meeting held on Thursday between the Lagos State Government and stakeholders representing the Tanker Drivers.

Recall that last week, tanker drivers under the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) in Lagos State boycotted loading petroleum products, with claims that they cannot afford the E-Call Up system’s ₦12,500 per truck levy on the Lekki-Epe Corridor. Instead, they advocated for a ₦2,500 per-truck fee.

However, a slight adjustment of 20% has now been introduced. 

The NARTO Chairman, Yusuf Othman, who confirmed the meeting, noted that tanker drivers have agreed to pay the new levy under the E-Call up system.

“We agreed to pay ₦10,000 effective from August 1st.”

The system is designed to regulate the movement of articulated vehicles and tankers accessing the corridor. The Lagos State Government noted that the initiative will ease traffic and prevent the kind of gridlock previously experienced in the Apapa area. It added that the system implementation is due to mounting traffic pressure caused by the increasing volume of articulated trucks along the Lekki Epe corridor.

“The E-Call Up system is a sustainable, effective and technology-driven solution of truck movement in the Lekki-Epe corridor,” it said.

Also Read: Lagos petrol tanker drivers to boycott loading over ₦12,500 e-call up levy.

While defending the levy, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Olawale Musa, noted that the levy was not going into government funds. He explained that the fee is meant to recover the finances spent on the facility built for drivers in the Lekki axis to avert gridlocks and environmental pollution.

In addition, Olawale said that the E-Call Up system was built by a private investor and urged drivers to obey rules and regulations to prevent the Lekki-Epe axis from turning into the old Apapa road.

How the E-Call Up system solves previous issues

The E-Call Up system enforcement is necessary to address growing and expected congestion. The implementation focuses on controlling growing traffic from articulated trucks linked to major industrial operations in the Lekki-Epe axis, including the Dangote Refinery, the Lekki Deep Sea Port, and other oil and gas facilities.

In order to ensure an efficient transaction for parking fees, the system will ensure structured scheduling and access to loading points. Truck operators are also mandated to register online, upload their Authority to Load (ATL) documents for verification, and await an electronic call-up before movement. 

Currently, about 360 to 400 trucks operate daily in the area, with projections that the figure could rise to as high as 4,000 trucks daily with the prospective full operation of Dangote Refinery. 

“We currently have between 360 and 400 trucks operating in the corridor daily, but projections show that the number could increase significantly, with Dangote Refinery alone capable of dispatching 3,000 to 4,000 trucks once operations reach full capacity,” the government noted.

Furthermore, the system will use real-time data to monitor the movement of trucks by ensuring that only validated and cleared trucks access designated parks and loading points. Potentially, this will help reduce congestion and improve traffic flow. 

The system will also optimise parking usage through allocating trucks to designated holding parks based on approved schedules and verifiable operational needs. The five designated holding parks are: Hog Marketing Limited in Okorisan, Epe; Nilmage Two4Seven in Poka, Epe; Goldspeed Freight Agency Ltd. opposite Dangote Refinery; Diamond Star Ports and Terminal Ltd. in Abule Panu; and Tal Concept Ltd. at HFP Brick Industry along the Lekki-Epe Expressway.

As the E-Call up system works towards efficiency and alleviating congestion along the Lekki-Epe corridors, the system can be integrated with other existing infrastructure, such as CCTV cameras, video analytics systems, and digital trackers, to promote an efficient implementation. 

Using CCTV cameras and truck tracking will enable real-time monitoring of their movements and intelligent video analytics to detect emergencies and other incidents. The initiatives, together with the E-Call up system, will promote the enforcement of regulations and safety measures by improving transportation effectively in the area.