The Nigerian maritime industry largely seated at the Apapa seaports axis of Lagos is the epicenter of import-export business and a critical contributor to the national economy.
The industry is valued with the prospect of generating over $8billion annually to the economy if properly harnessed through well-harmonized policies, fully automated port operations and tighter synergy among government agencies and industry stakeholders. As an import-dependent nation, the importance of the Lagos ports to the national economy cannot be overemphasized; little wonders the Nigerian business environment and indeed the nation literally catches a cold when Apapa Ports Sneeze.
However, a key issue bedeviling the industry – the perennial port congestion and the attendant cargoes delay and incessant gridlock on roads leading to the seaports, which has defied all solutions thrown at it, is currently at its worst and has almost brought business within and around the Apapa and Tin can seaports axis to a grinding halt. This is as empty containers which ordinarily should load imported cargoes at the ports and deliver to importers warehouse ideally within two or three days now stay grounded on long endless queues waiting for weeks to gain access to the seaports!
The port operations, around which this gridlock is located, involve cargo throughput, truck movement, terminal operations, customs cargo clearance, charges and fees, demurrage, empty containers handling and call up system. The Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), terminal operators, shipping companies and Nigeria Shippers Council are the custodians of these processes. These processes, critical stakeholders alleged, are replete with official corruptions and extortions fueled by decaying infrastructure, cumbersome physical inspections and endless delays, and responsible for the gridlock and congestions.
But government through its agencies, including the NPA, NCS and others highlighted previous efforts as well as urgent interventions already in the pipe line to further reassure stakeholders on proffering lasting solutions to the intractable maze of Lagos ports gridlock and congestion.
The embarrassing gridlock is not a new problem but seemed to have assumed a monstrous dimension despite various federal governments’ moves to fix it. Prior to the Federal government intervention on May 24th, 2019 via the set-up of the Presidential Task Team, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) had earlier engaged the Naval Authority to collaborate with its personnel over the issue. The problem however grew worse until the naval personnel were chased away due to their alleged unbridled extortions.
Then the Presidential Task Team comprising all relevant security agents headed by Chairman Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and Comrade Kayode Opeifa, a former Lagos Commissioner for Transportation took over in 2019 with an initial three months deadline to restore sanity to the chaotic port access roads. But when the government realized the enormity, the deadline was extended by another three months. Eventually, the task team spent 17 months before it was also disbanded in October 2020 by the government. Even at that, the problem was far from being over.
The governments and its agencies are clearly bothered about the menace and are indeed unrelenting with efforts to cure the malaise. Following previous interventions, the Lagos state governor in an unscheduled and the fourth visit to Apapa over traffic congestion, on Monday December 28, 2020, announced the state’s decision to take over traffic management and enforcement of the Presidential Task Team on Port Decongestion and create a new operational template for the Unit, which will be enforced by a combined team of officers of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the police in order to restore sanity to the area. Governor Sanwo-Olu having also promised stakeholders that sharp practices and inadequacies observed in the handling of the container operations at the ports would be escalated to the Minister of Transport while the misconduct of the policemen stationed close to the ports would be reported to the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
In the same vein, the NPA also plans to introduce electronic call-up system and automated Transit Truck Park in January, 2021, but stakeholders appear still worried and desperately longing to see drastic changes soon. City People Business Editor, ISRAEL BOLAJI-GBADAMOSI spoke to some stakeholders. Excerpts:
REVEREND EMMANUEL AGUBANZE
Head of Special Duty, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF). Stakeholders had expected so much following the decision of government to allow professional port managers run the operations through the port concessioning program but our hopes have been dashed.
But the Nigerian government is indeed destroying the economy through poor management of the ports. Frankly, not much has improved for years despite the promises, year after year.
The terrible inefficiencies at the Nigerian Port is not just damaging business for importers but damaging the Nigerian economy. The truth is that Nigeria is an import driven country, so, anything that hinders import business slows down trade in the country.
The cost of doing business at the port is ridiculously high. Indeed, the high cost of services, obvious inefficiencies, congestion and corruption which have characterize the Nigerian port have badly affected the Nigerian economy and are responsible for the nation’s current economic woes.
The situation at the port is so bad, and it’s a critical factor responsible for Nigeria recession and current poor state of economy.
Infrastructure remains poor. There’s no space for holding bay and everywhere is badly congested. Instead of clearing cargoes in 2 to 3 days, we now do weeks.
The Port trade volume is currently at about 40% of its ideal capacity. Instead of clearing 300 to 400 containers daily, we are doing around 150 or thereabouts.
Efficiency is very low. Capacity is weak. No space. Vessels are delayed endlessly. Though the process is supposedly automated, there are multiple physical inspections and checks which waste too much time, and encourage corruption to thrive at the port.
Also, stakeholders are not well carried along at the planning stage for government’s policy formulation. NAGAFF is not well carried along by government. To say the fact, government has not performed well at the port.
Despite being expensive, the services at the port are not only poor but frustrating business owners. For example, the 24/48 hours cargo clearance talk is a big joke. There is no light at the port some times. What level of security assurance do you have to move your container from the port if it’s cleared by 12 midnight?
The bane of our problems at the port ranges from poor policymaking and implementation. In Nigeria, the government makes policies without involving critical stakeholders for their inputs. By critical stakeholders, I mean those that will directly feel the impact of the policy. We are practitioners on the field and we understand the real issues but when the government wants to take decisions they simply look away. We are ignored, for instance, for the port concessioning, freight forwarders should have been more involved.
ABDULLAHI BELLO, TRUCK DRIVER AT APAPA PORT
Oga journalist, we have been on this queue for many days and we can be here for weeks. As you see empty containers that want to load here, it is a loss. A container should never be idle. It should be moving and carrying loads to make money. We go through many problems. Officers checkpoints are too much and if you don’t cooperate, they can turn you back. The road is back and everything is too slow. Business is too slow with this situation. We are tired. All the new plans and promises should happen quickly.
Let the government help us find solutions to this problem. Let Customs inside the port work fast. We have parked here since. So that it can be our turn quickly and we can make more deliveries faster.
CUSTOM TIN CAN PORT PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER, UCHE EJESIEME
Well, it may interest you to know that Tin can Island command under comptroller Abdullahi Musa is a trail blazer on issues that could mitigate congestion and also trade facilitation. This is because, shortly after resumption of office, he embarked on a comprehensive study of the peculiarities and issues militating against the realization of the 48 hr clearance timeliness of the federal government.
Consequently, he alongside his management came up with a number of modalities. First was the sensitization of all critical stakeholders and mass education on the mission and vision of Nigeria customs service. In achieving this, we organized a lot of training programmes for the officers, stakeholders and other critical security/regulatory agencies, to enable streamlining of operational structures.
Secondly, the comptroller strengthened the existing dispute resolution committee, which hitherto was sitting twice weekly to sitting daily. This is a neutral and unbiased Committee comprising eggheads from key areas of the service and entrusted with the responsibility of resolving issues arising from PAAR, valuation, classification or other related issues.
Thirdly is the re-engineering of the help desk, domiciled in the office of the PRO and also charged with intervening on issues within our view and escalating any matter beyond it to the next level of authority.
Added to the above is the platform whereby you could use a valid bank bond to take delivery of any consignment in controversy pending resolution, to avoid accruing needless demurrage. Similarly, we also conduct occasional time release study. This is just a self-assessment mechanism, a brainchild of the comptroller, to monitor movements of SGD’s in the system with a view to identifying areas of delay.
Finally, is the fact that the comptroller has really demystified the office of the comptroller by making it accessible to any importer or agent who has a genuine complaint. And so I can assure you that the service is not in any way contributing to port congestion.
It is instructive to note that trade facilitation naturally stands on a tripod of process, infrastructure and logistics.
The process is essentially what customs and other regulatory agencies are doing, while logistics has to do with transport system, while infrastructure refers to the roads.
Now if you look at logistics, I wish to state with due respect that most of the trucks are really too old and that’s why you see them littered along the port corridor after exit, either for accident or vehicular breakdown. And on infrastructure, Tin can port for now has just one access road and that’s the LIVERPOOL Bridge, and this is where trucks coming in and out of Tin can use, as well other vehicles, tricycles, okadas and even pedestrians.
So all of these have posed a serious challenge and has the potentials of creating backlogs at the port.
IBRAHIM NASIRU
Assistant General Manager (Strategic Communications), Nigeria Port Authority (Npa). Nasiru, in a recent interview said, “What the NPA management is doing to reduce the problem is to establish an automated Transit Truck Park as well as an electronic call-up system where all trucks will park till they are called to go into the port for their business.
Any truck that is not called cannot have access to the port area. We are working with the Lagos State government to acquire the location for the park planned to become functional in January 2021.
Besides, we are liaising with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to handle remedial works on the portions of port access road, while the Lagos State government will deploy enforcement officers for maintenance of sanity along the port logistic ring.”
OKAFOR STEPHEN
General Manager Operations at National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO)
There are many factors responsible for cargo delays and port congestion. You may be aware that last Thursday the Permanent Secretary and Minister came from Abuja to inspect the state of the port at the Tin can axis. Many of the stakeholders attended.
So many factors are responsible. For example, the case of bad roads, especially within Tin can axis. This has been a key challenge. The road construction has been on for long but not finished yet. This alone accounts for 50% of the problem.
In the absence of good roads, how will containers go if cleared? Sometimes, the main road is blocked and only the service lane will be opened for inbound and outbound commuters. The traffic then becomes horrible.
Until then roads are fixed, the problem remains. That is why we in the transportation sector have urged itech, the Construction Company and government to hasten up the work. Apapa is better. Tin can is worse.
Secondly, customs multiple checking and verification points contribute to the problem. Even after you are cleared, having gone through from one table to another, there are still many Customs check points within the corridors.
Also, law enforcement agencies while controlling traffic, also delay traffic flow for personal gains best known to them. These are the issues causing the congestion. That’s why the Minister visited. Now, there is another committee set up to look into the issues and proffer solutions. However, many federal government committees have come in the past, fix the problem which worked temporarily but returned. The truth is that the problem of the system is as old as the system.
However, most of the trucks littering the roads are going to one terminal or the other. A journey that should take the trucker half or one day ends up taking two weeks just to access the terminal. Some of the cargoes are taken away by the road. Though the water system just came onboard, empty containers now come in through the water but how lucrative is that? It is not comparable to the road. For rail line, it is few and occasional. The road takes the lion share. That’s why good road access is paramount.
Indeed, most of the problems are from the government. For instance, the port should have its holding bay for parking trucks but because of port concessions, no space. Trucks come in and since there is no space to park they stay on the road except those with private garage. What about trucks from the North?
Most of the problems are caused by the government. There is a lot that needs to be done by government. They are the regulator and when they regulate, we comply.
There are private sector and public sector stakeholders groups at the port. Public are NPA, Shippers Council and Customs while the private are like the transport unions. All stakeholders are worried and all complain about the same issues. There’s no fight as our problems are mutual. NAGAFF, ANCLA all complain about the same. We all complain to NPA, they are the operators. We complain to them.
In terms of the impact of port congestion on trade volume I will say it has been bad. For instance, you can’t compare the volume of trade now to five years ago. Business has at least dropped by between 40 and 50% because of the issues enumerated. Imagine a trucker who is supposed to in one or half day run the round and pick a container now takes two weeks just to access the port.
All the stakeholders are working for sustainable solutions. Business has really dropped significantly and it’s not good for the country.
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