Port Crisis Looms As NAGAFF Raises Alarm Over ETO Call-Up System Failures, Corruption At Lagos Ports

Port Crisis Looms As NAGAFF Raises Alarm Over ETO Call-Up System Failures, Corruption At Lagos Ports
…………seeks President Tinubu’s Intervention

By Ruth Sunday 

The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has sounded the alarm over an imminent breakdown in the ETO call-up system at the Lagos Port Complex, citing systemic corruption, inefficiency, and alleged sabotage by some staff of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

In a strongly worded letter dated May 8, 2025, addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and copied to top maritime regulatory agencies, NAGAFF Secretary General, Forwarder Godfrey E. Nwosu, outlined critical concerns plaguing Nigeria’s Western Port corridor. He warned that the once-praised digital traffic management solution—designed to end decades of port access chaos—was relapsing into dysfunction.

NAGAFF acknowledged the initial success of the port decongestion program, led by indigenous firm Truck Transit Park Nigeria Ltd (TTP), which brought significant improvement following the implementation of the ETO digital call-up system in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and the NPA.

However, the group highlighted that truckers now face prolonged delays at pre-gates, coupled with rampant extortion by traffic officers. According to the letter, truck operators are forced to pay bribes at multiple checkpoints between pre-gates and port gates, or risk being turned back.

More troubling, the group alleged the existence of a cartel manipulating and hoarding the ETO call-up codes, selling them for as much as ₦400,000 per truck. This has pushed local cargo haulage costs to an average of ₦1 million, drastically inflating logistics expenses and reducing port productivity.

“Much work is still needed,” the letter read. “From available information, there is a gradual build-up of traffic most times in recent times, indicative of the fact that the ETO Call-Up system is relapsing. Therefore, something urgent has to be done.”

NAGAFF has called on the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy to immediately review and overhaul the operational model of the ETO system, urging President Tinubu to initiate a thorough investigation into the roles of NPA, TTP staff, and traffic officers implicated in the alleged sabotage.

The group warned that unless urgent steps are taken, the nation’s ports risk returning to the era of crippling gridlock and economic losses that forced companies out of Apapa in the past.

More statements and detailed recommendations are expected from NAGAFF in the coming weeks as it pushes for reforms in port management and accountability in line with the President’s “Renewed Hope” agenda.