After months of delays and consultations, the Lagos State Authorities has set June 16 because the official begin date for imposing its digital call-up (e-call-up) system on the more and more congested Lekki-Epe hall.
The transfer is aimed toward tackling the persistent gridlock attributable to heavy-duty automobiles accessing the Lekki Free Zone and the Lekki Deep Sea Port.
The announcement was made Sunday in a press release launched by Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation Oluwaseun Osiyemi, following a high-level stakeholders’ assembly chaired by Deputy Governor Dr. Obafemi Hamzat.
The assembly introduced collectively key gamers from Nigeria’s vitality and logistics sectors to handle site visitors considerations which have worsened with the fast industrial growth within the space.
“The e-call-up system just isn’t about income assortment,” mentioned Hamzat. “It’s a vital intervention designed to make sure orderliness, streamline the motion of articulated vehicles, and stop the sort of chaos we witnessed in Apapa.”
Apapa, residence to Lagos’ primary seaport, has lengthy struggled with paralyzing site visitors congestion largely resulting from unregulated truck actions. With Lekki now rising as a significant industrial hub, state officers say they’re decided to keep away from repeating that situation.
In line with Osiyemi, prior enforcement efforts had been suspended after implementation challenges surfaced, prompting additional consultations with stakeholders. Nonetheless, he mentioned, the state is now prepared to maneuver ahead and is asking for the speedy elimination of all automobiles presently obstructing the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
“We’re centered on restoring sanity to the hall,” Osiyemi mentioned. “The success of this technique is essential not just for site visitors decongestion but in addition for shielding very important street infrastructure and guaranteeing the security of all street customers.”
The e-call-up system features as a scheduling platform, controlling when and the way vehicles achieve entry to loading factors. It’s designed to reduce wait instances and cut back indiscriminate parking alongside roadsides.
Sunday’s assembly drew representatives from a few of Nigeria’s most influential transport and vitality {groups}, together with the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Pure Gasoline Staff (NUPENG), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), Impartial Petroleum Entrepreneurs Affiliation of Nigeria (IPMAN), and the Main Energies Entrepreneurs Affiliation of Nigeria (MEMAN).
Different members included the Lekki Free Zone, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Lagos State has positioned the Lekki hall as a future {economic} powerhouse, residence to Nigeria’s largest deep-sea port, the Dangote Refinery, and a rising variety of industrial operations. However with out a sturdy site visitors administration technique, officers warn, the hall dangers turning into a logistical nightmare.
The e-call-up system, a digital platform designed to schedule and regulate the motion of professional quality automobiles, was first launched in July 2024.
The preliminary implementation was slated for August 1 of that 12 months, however was postponed days earlier than the rollout to handle logistics considerations and guarantee a smoother deployment. A brand new launch date of September 23 was later proposed, solely to be delayed once more as stakeholders referred to as for broader engagement.
On March, 4, 2025 Lagos officers briefly suspended the system’s rollout after a closed-door assembly with union leaders from the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Pure Gasoline Staff (NUPENG), the Impartial Petroleum Entrepreneurs Affiliation of Nigeria (IPMAN), the Nigerian Affiliation of Highway Transport House owners (NARTO), and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD).
Union representatives requested extra time to teach their members and implement inside compliance with the brand new system.
