The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said on Sunday in Lagos that its officials and security agents undertook a spot check of the MPS Pre-gate and made a mind-boggling discovery of 249 fake vehicle plate numbers and 149 units of Minimum Safety Standard (MSS) stickers used in faking electronic call-up for port bound trucks.
The Authority’s further checks of the terminal led to the discovery of another 164 pieces of vehicle number plates and 133 pieces of MSS Stickers that are not fixed on any truck in readiness to be deployed for proxy booking.
According to NPA, the fake number plates and MSS tickets were immediately confiscated, and the terminal manager was invited for questioning.
BusinessDay had earlier reported that a fake electronic truck traffic management (e-Call-Up) system, also known as Eto, is now faked and sold to truckers for as much as N150,000 in the black market and fueling e-call-up racketeering of Eto tickets that are officially sold for N10,750 and 21,500 with VAT at the port.
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The discovery is in a move geared towards frontally tackling the activities of unpatriotic elements sabotaging the call-up system.
NPA said the discovery validates the Authority’s position on the existence of a deliberate and well-orchestrated effort to undermine the electronic Call-Up system, which the NPA initiated to eliminate human interface in managing traffic in and out of the ports as a measure of sustainably taming the menace of traffic gridlock hurting the national economy.
NPA further revealed that it is resolute in consolidating the e-call-up project and its other process automation initiatives to grow the maritime sector to its full potential.
