Commencement of Call-Up System Amidst Disagreement: Stakeholders Meeting Addresses Traffic CrisisIn response to the escalating traffic challenges, a recent stakeholders meeting convened by the state took place last week at the Lagos State Secretariat in Ikeja. During the meeting, Mr. Seun Osiyemi, the Commissioner for Transportation, announced the initiation of the E-call-up system for traffic management starting today, Monday, September 23, 2024. He emphasized that any issues arising will be promptly addressed and rectified as the system is put into operation. The state government wants to on-board every stakeholder opearating in that axis on the call-up system, Dangote Group said it could not come onboard because governmnent did not provide adequate truck park capacity.Already, following commencement of mainstream operations at the Dangote Refinery a week ago, trucking operations have increased exponentially without commencement of the system or alternative provision to address the traffic challenges on temporal basis.Dangote Refinery indicated that it could have provided adequate truck park capacity before commencing operations, according to the initial plan it had, but lamented that the state governmnent disuaded it on grounds that the state was already set to provide the facility.
While the state government wants to on-board every stakeholder opearating in that axis on the call-up system, Dangote Group said it could not come onboard because governmnent did not provide adequate truck park capacity.Already, following commencement of mainstream operations at the Dangote Refinery a week ago, trucking operations have increased exponentially without commencement of the system or alternative provision to address the traffic challenges on temporal basis.Dangote Refinery indicated that it could have provided adequate truck park capacity before commencing operations, according to the initial plan it had, but lamented that the state governmnent disuaded it on grounds that the state was already set to provide the facility.
But Managing Director of Call-up Technologies, promoters of the e-call-up system, Mr. Timi Koledu , said that everything about the system is ready and the Information Technology equipment has been deployed appropriately.
With the traffic crises now imminent, another stakeholders meeting was called by the state, last week, at the Lagos State Secretariat, Ikeja, where the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Seun Osiyemi said that the E-call-up system for traffic management will commence today, Monday, September 23, 2024, adding that if there are issues to be corrected and resolved, they will be done as the system is operated.Meanwhile, Mr. Yinka Akande, representing Dangote Group at the meeting stated that a truck park was part of the plan for the refinery, adding that the company was ready to build its own park until the state government dissuaded the company, claiming that government had decided to establish truck parks to service all operations in the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
Akande insinuated that the invitation to Dangote Group for the meeting was an after-thought because it only got the notice less than 48 hours before the meeting adding, however, that because the group has respect for constituted authorities, it had to find its way round constraints by getting a high executive to discard all other pre-scheduled engagements to attend the meeting.He stated further: “Dangote Group is desirous of the call-up system but we have a problem about the sequencing of activities and where the priority seems to be.“A precursor activity happened before your regime, before you came into power,” apparently referring to present government under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Discussions between Lagos State and Dangote on construction of truck parks started during the regime of Akinwunmi Ambode as state governor.Akande further stated: “We have already acquired a 33-hectare piece of land in the vicinity for the purpose of building a modern truck park but the governor dissuaded us from that, saying, “don’t worry, the state government is in participation with some private entity and we are going to put a very standard truck park in place; all you need to do is to be off-takers’.‘‘So the governor said, ‘concentrate on your construction of the refinery; This is logistics and logistics is not your core function, leave that to us’.
