Tanker drivers plying the Lekki-Epe in Lagos State will now pay N10,000 per truck to use parks constructed under the E-Call Up system, The PUNCH has learnt.
The decision to reduce the fee from N12,500 to N10,000 was made following a meeting between the Lagos State Government and stakeholders on Thursday.
In a chat with our correspondent, the National President of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, Yusuf Othman, confirmed that a meeting was held on Thursday and that it was unanimously agreed that the fee be reduced to N10,000. The payment of the fee would commence on August 1, Othman said.
The PUNCH recalls that the Lagos State Government had announced the commencement of the E-Call Up system on June 16, but this was thwarted when the tanker drivers and fuel marketers declared a strike and stopped lifting fuel.
They had told the government that they could not pay the N12,500 demanded, opting to pay N2,500 instead. On Tuesday, the strike was called off to give room for a peaceful resolution of the matter in a meeting scheduled for last Thursday.
Speaking with our correspondent, Othman stated, “We agreed to pay N10,000 effective from August 1st.”
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 Lekki-Epe corridor, thereby promoting orderly traffic flow and preventing the kind of gridlock previously experienced in the Apapa area.
The Lekki-Epe axis, which hosts critical investments such as the Dangote refinery, Lekki Deep Sea Port, and several oil and gas installations, has continued to witness a surge in industrial and commercial activities.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, had explained that the E-Call Up System was designed to prevent chaos on the roads by regulating truck movements using a structured scheduling framework, stating that under the new regime, truck operators would be required to register online and upload their Authority-to-Load documents.
The commissioner mentioned that only trucks that were validated and cleared would be granted access to designated truck parks, where they would await an electronic call-up notification before proceeding to their loading destinations, saying “the process is aimed at reducing illegal parking, improving traffic flow, enhancing security and safeguarding road infrastructure along the busy corridor.”
With only one major exit route in the area, the government said this growth had intensified congestion concerns.
