Mr. Godwin Oritse, Your article draws attention: 

The recent protest by the Maritime Truck Drivers Association (MTDA) highlights a critical crossroads in Nigeria’s port logistics ecosystem. The peaceful demonstration not only underscores the frustrations of truck owners and drivers but also emphasizes the urgent need for systemic reform within port operations, particularly around issues of extortion, inefficiency, and corruption.

While the electronic call-up system (ETO) has had its challenges, the consensus among key stakeholders — including MTDA, the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), and the Lagos State Trucks and Cargo Operators Committee (LASTCOC) — is that ETO has contributed meaningfully to decongesting the ports and restoring a degree of sanity to truck movements. Calls to scrap the system appear to be driven not by genuine stakeholders but by those who benefited from the unregulated chaos of the past.

The allegations of inflated fees, black-market ticketing, and multiple extortion checkpoints are serious and must be addressed decisively by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and relevant security agencies. Introducing an Electronic Tag (ETAG) system, as suggested by the truckers, could be a step toward eliminating identity fraud and racketeering, ensuring that access to the ports is both fair and transparent.

Furthermore, enhancing terminal efficiency is non-negotiable. Delays at terminals not only frustrate drivers but also impact trade and increase the cost of goods. Port reform must therefore go beyond traffic control to include robust operational oversight, digital transparency, and regulatory enforcement.

In sum, the protest should serve as a wake-up call to port authorities and government stakeholders. Rather than dismantling ETO, efforts should focus on refining it—plugging loopholes, eliminating corrupt practices, and reinforcing a system that has already demonstrated its potential to transform port logistics in Nigeria. The truckers have spoken not against reform, but in defense of it—and their message is clear: fix the system, don’t scrap it.