Nigeria’s seaports are at risk of congestion due to the absence of a functional rail system for evacuating cargo to the hinterland, Pius Akutah, Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), has said.
Speaking in Lagos on Thursday at a sensitisation programme organised by the Council, Akutah said the lack of rail evacuation has resulted in delayed cargo clearance, increased demurrage payments, and a surge in trucks and tankers on the roads, leading to traffic gridlock and higher costs of doing business.
He said the NSC is partnering with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to address this challenge by identifying and tackling limitations facing the NRC’s infrastructural development, streamlining customs processes, and exploring Public-Private Partnership opportunities to enhance rail transport services.
The collaboration aims to promote multimodal cargo evacuation and distribution to the hinterland, reducing costs and congestion at seaports.
“On February 20th, 2014, and following the concession of the Nigerian ports in 2006, aimed at making the ports effective and efficient in line with global trend and best practices, the government further pronounced the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as an Interim Ports Economic Regulator while it was confirmed as a substantive Ports Economic Regulator in April, 2015.
“Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) as a dependable ally is vested with the authority to manage the public rail infrastructure, and to provide rail services and facilities for the carriage of goods and passengers,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Ify Okolue, NSC Director, Inland Transport and Services of the NSC, noted that the objective of the summit is to identify the challenges facing the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) infrastructural development; the role of the Nigeria Customs Service towards enabling seamless movement of cargo; reduction of the cost of doing business in the port and proffering practicable solutions to the identified problems while opening up discussions on the possibility for Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the provision of rail transport services with a view to promoting multimodal approach to cargo evacuation and distribution to the hinterland.
Okolue asserted that the NSC and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy stand resolutely committed to creating an enabling environment for the actualisation of optimal and seamless movement of cargoes by rail from the seaports to the inland dry ports and the hinterland in general.
The Chairman of Apapa Local Government, Idowu Adejumoke, highlighted the challenges of port access roads, and urged the Federal Government.
“I am not benefitting from the Federal Government agencies in Apapa; the economy of Apapa Local Government is in your hands. Let this economy thrive again,” she said.
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