Nigeria Economy Loses $8.3m to Closure of Seaports Over 2019 Election

Abiola Seun |

The Nigeria economy has lost a whooping N30 billion ($8.3million at prevailing rate of N360/$) for paralysing economic activities at the nation’s seaports and land borders due to the conduct of the 2019 presidential and governorship elections.

Recall that the Presidential election was earlier scheduled for February 16th, before it was postponed and conducted on the 23rd of February, 2019 while the governorship election was postponed from March 2nd to 9th February 2019.

However, while there were partial closures of the seaports on three working days, there were full closures on three Saturdays as there were restrictions on movement.

Nigerian ports on these free days had incurred a daily loss of over N5 billion in addition to N648 million that might accumulate daily as demurrage on goods trapped in the ports, a cost usually borne by importers.

The development will further fuel inflationary pressures on the economy given the already high costs incurred by importers through the inefficiency in the management of ship and cargo traffic in Nigerian ports.

The money lost by NPA represented revenue accruable from port charges, and the build-up of vessels waiting to discharge their cargoes.

It was gathered that N5.4billion was revenue that would have accrued to the government through Customs import duty, levies, operators’ charges, fee accrued to Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) among others.

Additional N3,6 billion was lost by shipping lines, manufacturing companies, haulage/trucking firms, terminal operators, importers, clearing agents totalling an average daily loss of N5 billion.

Speaking in Lagos, an investment and Business Consultant, Dr Vincent Nwani said Nigeria would have lost about 22 million dollars to the shutdown of the nation seaports.

According to him, the consumers will bear the cost of the postponement as the cost will be passed to them.

He said, “All of us know that since 16th of February, elections have taken us three days or even four days and if we want to count it, the day election was postponed, which is 15 and the day before that day is half day off which is one and half day.

He continued, ” Then on the 23rd which means two days and half and a day to 23 is half-day work making three days.

Yesterday then made it four days. But, if we want to take three days, 15 ,24 of February and 9th of March, when our borders were shut down, it is not good for the economy or the image of the country because it is not of global best practice.

The Lagos based consultant also decried the closure of the land borders saying that would also have implication on the nation’s economy.

“We have never heard that election happened in UK, US or Australia and the ports were shut down and when the ports are shut it means the land borders are also shut and nothing can go in or out including the maritime port.

“When ports are shut, nothing can come in or go out, goods cannot be cleared, berth or off loaded same happen to aviation and these are gateway to the country and when we say none oil, it means we have to import and export and the economy is incurring huge cost and am just basing my comment on maritime sector.

“For the full day when maritime sector is shut down we lost huge millions of dollars. For instance, $15million is lost for two days that is N4.6billion and for the three days we would have lost $22m for maritime port and for closing airport, $11millon and that goes to Land border also but looking at contribution of the sector to GDP and simulators, Nigeria would have made interns of activities and revenue is huge.”

Nwani also disclosed that the closure of seaports and land borders dampen investors’ confidence and the loss could be up to N450billion.

“If you close border for one day, informal sector will lose about N150billion and for four days about N450billion and most importantly, it dampens the investors’ confidence and the kind of disruption will lead to disruption cost and this will be transferred to the importers who will transfer it to the final consumer because the ships will charge for the delay, terminal operators will charge and it will all go back to the final consumer.”