A former Commissioner for Transportation in Lagos State, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, has described the Electronic Call-up system introduced by the Nigerian Ports Authority for easy movement of cargoes in and out of the ports as a technological turning point in Nigeria’s approach to logistics management.
This was contained in a statement on Tuesday obtained by The PUNCH.
Oladeinde, who midwifed the onboarding of Ètò for the state government, explained that for years, the Apapa Port Corridor in Lagos symbolised everything wrong with Nigeria’s urban logistics—gridlock, inefficiency, and unending frustration.
Ètò is a digital traffic management system designed and deployed by TTP, streamlining truck movements and port access in Nigeria by allowing truck operators to book appointments online for port access and eliminating the need for physical queuing. Each booking generates a digital call-up, embedded with security, that regulates access and ensures only authorised trucks can proceed to access the ports and industrial hubs.
According to him, endless lines of trucks turned the roads leading to Nigeria’s busiest ports into a parking lot of despair.
“But in 2021, a quiet digital revolution began. The Lagos State Government, in partnership with Trucks Transit Parks Ltd and the NPA, launched Ètò, a name derived from the Yoruba word for ‘order’. And for the first time, order began to replace chaos on the Apapa corridor. Ètò wasn’t just a traffic solution; it was a technological turning point in Nigeria’s approach to logistics management,” Oladeinde said.
Oladeinde remarked that before Ètò, indiscriminate truck parking and chaotic queuing paralysed commercial activities, adding that the system introduced order and predictability where there was once only congestion and frustration.
He added that the impact of the platform was immediate and measurable.
Oladeinde stressed that within months of rollout, the Lagos State Government reported over 90 per cent compliance among registered truckers.
“Ètò is not perfect, but it’s a vast improvement on the old system. It reduced congestion, curbed extortion, and restored a level of dignity to port operations,” he stressed.
The former commissioner emphasised that at the core of Ètò’s success is TTP, a private technology firm specialising in smart mobility solutions.
He noted that the data-driven, automated, and real-time scheduling model ushered Lagos port operations into the digital age, allowing government agencies to track and manage port traffic more efficiently and intelligently.
“Before TTP’s intervention, truck coordination was largely manual and prone to corruption. Now, with Ètò, we can track, schedule, and manage truck movements with data-driven precision,” he stated.
Oladeinde mentioned that the success of the platform depends on balance and cooperation among government institutions, the private sector, and industry stakeholders.
He credited the project’s progress to political will and consistent stakeholder dialogue. “We brought everyone to the table: the ports authority, transport unions, logistics companies, and local communities. Building trust was essential. Without that, even the best technology would have failed,” he said.
He averred that the alignment of interests transformed Ètò from a tech experiment into a functioning ecosystem.
Oladeinde, however, admitted that the platform also faced resistance, stressing that some truckers tried to bypass it with fake call-up tickets or licence plates.
“Limited container holding bay capacity, terminal delays, and bad access roads occasionally undermined the system’s efficiency. Every new system faces teething problems. What matters is persistence, iteration, and refinement. Lagos has shown that digital traffic management works; we need consistency and infrastructure to sustain it,” he stated.
He nevertheless admitted that the state government has continued to fine-tune enforcement mechanisms and improve the physical conditions of access roads.
According to Oladeinde, the Ètò model of digital booking, monitoring, and enforcement can be replicated in industrial zones, inland dry ports, and cross-border transport routes.
He underscored the need for political will, stakeholder buy-in, and transparent enforcement.
“Governments must see this not as a one-off tech fix but as a long-term policy shift. The legal and institutional frameworks must support it. That means good roads, transparent enforcement, and stakeholder buy-in from day one,” he stated.
Reflecting on his tenure, Oladeinde said his greatest satisfaction came from witnessing “a system once defined by chaos become a model of coordination.”
“Ètò showed that Nigerians are ready for structure when given the right tools and leadership. It’s not just about trucks and ports; it’s about changing how we manage our cities,” he averred.
He added that for Lagos, Ètò represents more than a call-up system. It is a blueprint for how urban Africa can use technology to reclaim its roads, restore efficiency, and rebuild trust between citizens and the systems that serve them.
