Truck Transit Parks Limited (TTP) has outlined the major achievements, challenges and next steps in its ongoing collaboration with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Lagos State Government to manage truck traffic in and around the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports.
Speaking during a presentation at the All Nigerian Maritime Journalists Retreat themed ” Maximising Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Import and Export Trade” held in Lagos on 4th December, 2025, the Managing Director of TTP, Jama Onwubuariri, noted that the company was invited by the Federal Government in 2019 to help address the chronic gridlock that plagued the Apapa port corridor. By 2020, TTP signed a concession agreement to deploy technology-driven traffic management solutions through its electronic call-up system, ETO
According to Onwubuariri, the initiative marked the beginning of a transformation that has significantly reduced congestion, improved cargo movement and enhanced operational efficiency within Lagos port access roads.
He recalled that before the reforms took effect in 2021, traffic in Apapa was so severe that commuters abandoned their vehicles and resorted to motorcycles and boats to reach their workplaces. Gridlock stretched from Apapa to Surulere and Mile 2, obstructing emergency services and crippling businesses.
He explained that today, the situation has improved dramatically as most Apapa access roads now experience free traffic flow, with congestion limited mainly to the “Mr. Biggs axis” near the port gates.He said Tin Can Island has also recorded improved access, although occasional queues persist among tankers not yet captured under the electronic call-up regime.
Onwubuariri attributed the improvements to the combined impact of NPA’s policies and TTP’s deployment of technology and physical truck parks. He stressed that the trucks did not “disappear” but were redirected to licensed holding bays pending digital clearance to enter terminals.
He disclosed that the cost of moving cargo to and from the ports has dropped by about 65%, falling from as high as ₦1.4 million to between ₦350,000 and ₦500,000. TTP also synchronized the ETO platform with the Central Bank’s Nigerian Export Proceeds (NXP) portal, ensuring exporters complete regulatory processes before booking port access.
Since inception, he said the system has processed approximately 3.4 million truck movements in four years and nine months. Truck turnaround time has fallen from two to three weeks to two to three days, he added.
The company has also introduced 170 new feature updates to address emerging issues, maintaining 100% uptime since the platform launched in February 2021, an achievement Onwubuariri said surpasses even some global tech platforms that experienced downtime in the same period.
Despite progress, he highlighted key challenges still affecting seamless operations which include: truck plate number duplication and the use of fake or cloned numbers, non-compliance with Terminal Delivery Orders (TDOs), terminal efficiency gaps, where some operators take up to three hours to process trucks, truck drivers stalling on the road while waiting for additional business, extortion by security officials who take advantage of the system to create artificial bottlenecks.
He stated that while the electronic system has curtailed bribery by eliminating manual clearance, some uniformed personnel still exploit truckers, demanding payments before allowing movement.
TTP has proposed several measures to further strengthen port access management, including: deployment of a new E-tag digital identity system on truck windscreens to eliminate identity fraud, linking all bookings with a standardized interchange transaction number tied to VEP or TDO, improved investment in terminal infrastructure to reduce processing time, stronger consequence management for violators, introduction of 24-hour return service charges for port-bound trucks, firm directives from government to curb extortion by security agencies and regular performance monitoring of enforcement teams and terminal operators.
Onwubuariri reaffirmed TTP’s commitment to working with NPA and relevant stakeholders to sustain and deepen the gains of the Apapa traffic management reforms.
“There are still people who hear ‘Apapa’ and shake their heads because of the terrible experiences they had before 2021,” he said.
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