By Joshua Yousouph
Findings by Shipping Position Daily have revealed how branded companies and commercial truckers connive with staff of Trucks Transit Park (TTP) and law enforcement agencies along the port corridor to engage in large scale racketeering of electronic call up tickets in order to illegally gain easy access to the port.
Truck Transit Parks (TTP) Limited is the traffic management company saddled with the responsibility of decongesting access into Lagos ports. It claimed to have used technology to develop an electronic call up system software (Eto app) which controls the traffic of trucks in and out of the port.
Checks by our correspondent revealed that last month, officials of some of these notable companies that do not have cargoes to load at the ports bought excess electronic call up tickets outside their normal schedules and sold the tickets to other truck drivers who needed to gain access to the port. Sources revealed that the tickets were sold for as high as N100,000 and N150,000 in the ‘black market’.
Further findings show that due to the loop holes in the Eto system, many truck drivers have acquired more than one plate number, which they easily swap to whenever a ticket is bought from a third party. Sources noted that when the tickets are sold by those top-rate companies and Pre-gate operators at TTP to commercial trucks, the TTP staff and enforcement agents at the gate often connive with the commercial truck drivers to let their trucks go into the port.
A transporter who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) authorized some companies to operate pre-gate facilities and they have access to generate call-ups for trucks in their facilities. According to him, this provision is strictly for those big companies that have branded companies’ trucks to access the port. He said once they generate the ticket, they will now sell it out to commercial trucks instead of using them for their trucks.
Our source noted that once these commercial trucks get to the gate, TTP staff and enforcement agents at the port gate don’t query these trucks, but rather overlook the details of the ticket and grant them access to the port.
Giving an insight, he said: “It is true that some truck drivers have more than one plate number. Due to the loopholes in the eto system, it enables the truckers to do this. There are some people who have these plate numbers and God knows how they get MSS stickers that enable them to book on eto. Even when they book on eto, only God knows how they check in and out of the pre-gate or give out readymade tickets to those that want to buy. They will give you the ticket and plate number together. Once the driver collects the ticket and plate number, they would be able to access the port.
“Instead of the eto staff at the gate to check and do the needful, they will just ignore and allow the truck to go. In most cases, the tickets are for all these companies with big names with their branded trucks. The TTP staff know that this particular company has branded trucks and somebody brings their tickets with a commercial truck to access the port, they should be able to query the truck, trace the source and block the truck from accessing the port. But they won’t”.
“There are loop holes and it takes two to tangle. The drivers, truckers, eto staff and enforcement personnel are accomplices. In every agency there must be bad eggs. The truckers, enforcement and TTP staff are sabotaging the eto operations for their selfish gains. The major challenge is the enforcement agencies where they are easily lured to compromise. Assuming that these enforcement personnel are being redeployed like the way NPA and TTP do redeploy their staff within the port corridor, there will be reduction in all these corrupt activities”, he said.
On his part, the Head of Operations, Truck Transit Parks (TTP), Mr Irabor Okonoman told Shipping Position Daily that the electronic call up system ticket cannot be counterfeited, adding that it is computerized. He also noted that there are no difficulties in getting the tickets as long as you have a job to do at the port and you provide the necessary details.
Reacting to allegations of some TTP staff conniving with truck drivers and personnel of some big companies in ticket racketeering, Okononam argued that TTP Staff are not allowed to book tickets or act as a transport agent. He said according to the employment requirement, anyone caught will be fired and dismissed from service.
Okonoman also added that through investigation, some of the tickets were intercepted and the culprits who were from these companies and pre-gate operators were profiled and sanctioned by the management of TTP.
He explained that, “there is no difficulty in getting the tickets. You just have to show that you have a job to do at the port. Have a container to pick or have an export to drop. The evidence is your container number and it is matched with your truck”.
Giving an insight into how the system works, he explained that: “Our men don’t even check the ticket. When you bring your ticket, all we check is your journey code. We go into our system and confirm if that system exists. We are not even looking at paper. The information that is inside your paper is what we key into the system for verification. Every one of our staff has a handheld tab given for this purpose. Once you take that information from that purported code, you check and see if it rhymes with what is on the system. Our system is always live. Anyone can confirm that. Yes, the information on the ticket might tally, but is that truck the actual owner of that ticket?
Lamenting, he added that, “if you stop a typical truck, they don’t have a plate number or vehicle documents. In fact, the vehicle documents are the worst. Once the regulatory agencies cannot make sure those things you can actually use to identify a truck are not available. So, it becomes difficult for the person who is checking. Even if the ticket is genuine, is the truck genuine?
“You don’t need a TTP staff to sell your ticket, activate, revalidate or reprint it. Once you book the ticket you can just go directly to the port. Once you book the ticket, the alert goes to you; both on your phone or email and not to any TTP staff, not even your driver. It is the person that booked that can now transfer it to whomever driver he wants to give it to continue the journey. There’s no service for TTP staff to book tickets for people. Part of the employment requirement is that once you are a TTP staff, you cannot book or be a transporter agent. If you are caught, it is a call for dismissal”, Okonomam concluded.
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Also speaking with our correspondent, a truck owner, Mr Kunle Ajayi said there is nothing wrong in re-selling electronic call-up tickets as long as the necessary protocols are not bridged. He said it is just a way to save truck drivers from loss and also save time in accessing the ports.
“If I have two trucks and I have booked for a ticket and in the course of going out, one of the trucks developed a fault and the other one is okay, the wise thing to do instead of wasting my time and money is to collect my number, which is still my own and give it to my other truck so that there would be movement in my own line of business. That will reduce my losses and I don’t see it as a problem. I would not want my export to waste”.
“As long as you are not jumping any line. It could even be the truck of your friend or somebody you know. That is just a mutual benefit between business partners. It doesn’t add up or reduce the number of trucks they will pass into the port in a day. What makes it incriminating or illegal is when you don’t register your number or you jump the timing and necessary protocols. It has not affected any line of duty in any quarters. Either you collect the ticket and give it to anybody; it is not the business of TTP as long as they have collected their money. In fact, I can book my ticket and go and sleep at home” Ajayi noted.
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