Nigeria loses N1tr to cargo diversion annually– NACCIMA

Nigeria -bound cargoes are daily been diverted to the neighbouring African countries of Cameroon, Togo, Ghana and Benin Republic due to the multiple and high tariffs which have made the Nigerian Ports not to be competitive.
The resultant effect of this cargo flight was the loss of a whooping sum of N1trillion annually by Nigerian government.

Making this assertion in Lagos recently, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, the President of National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACIMMA ) expressed regret over this development which she said was further exacerbated by what she called avoidable delays in cargo clearance at the ports.

The NACCIMA boss lamented, that, the Federal Government intervention through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) to enthrone seamless business transaction at the port was being bogged down and made ineffective by low level of modern functional technology for automation, valuation database, integrated process system and many more.

PEBEC is an action plan to reform initiative of the government, aimed at enabling quicker and easier movement of goods across borders through prevention of multiple inspections and reduction of documentation for exports.

Iyalode Lawson, who spoke through Mrs Flora Takim Ndifor, a national officer of NACCIMA at function in Lagos, urged the government and other relevant government agencies to improve port efficiency and reduce the cost of doing business at the port.

“Our Association urges government and other relevant port agencies to put in place more effective strategies to improve the overall efficiency of the ports, reduce the cost of doing business in the country and make Nigerian ports the hub for international freight and trade in West Africa.

“As the foremost apex business Association in the country and the “voice of Nigerian Business”, NACCIMA is ready to use its broad network base which encompasses the grassroots, to continue to strengthen its partnership with all organizations in the Maritime towards greater development of the economy and Nigeria at large,” she stated.

She however, commended the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for implementing PEBEC by reducing the number of government departments and agencies operating in the ports saying the Chamber looks forward to more implementation of the policy.

Speaking further, the NACCIMA boss said that, when the ports were given out ten years ago, there were high hopes of efficiency, but arrays of charges and taxes imposed on general goods, cargoes, break bulk, container goods and vehicles had dashed such hopes ports.

She submitted that, these and other fees have influenced cargo diversion to neighbouring countries like Togo, Benin and Ghana. According to her, Nigeria reportedly loses N1 trillion annually to cargo diversion to seaports in Cameron, Ghana and Benin Republic.