Maritime stakeholders have urged the Federal Government to benchmark the cost of clearing goods in Nigeria with what is obtained in other neighbouring ports in order to boost patronage and create more revenue.
In an exclusive chat with The PUNCH on Sunday, the Apapa Vice Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Cyprian Orakpo, said shippers would be forced to patronise other ports if the cost is more expensive in Nigerian ports.
Orakpo added that raising the cost of clearing goods in Nigeria will also encourage smuggling.
He said, “So we should be able to benchmark the cost of clearing goods in Nigeria. We have to benchmark it with other ports within the West African region. If the clearing cost is higher in the Nigerian ports, naturally, shippers will use the alternative ports, and there are many alternative ports bordering Nigeria, and that is what encourages smuggling. Because when they offload these containers outside Nigerian ports, they now use small vehicles and trucks to bring these goods into Nigeria.”
According to him, Nigeria will not only lose more in payment of port charges but also in tariffs of the Nigeria Customs Service.
“The more expensive the cost of clearing goods, whether in charges or Nigerian Ports Authority tariff, the more tempted business people will tend to use alternative ports. So, it is a simple thing: if the NPA increases their charges, it may actually lead to less revenue because more people will divert their goods to neighbouring ports,” he stated.
Speaking on the volume of cargoes that may likely stop coming to Nigerian ports due to this tariff increase, he said, “I can’t say the number of the volume of goods that would be diverted to neighbouring ports due to this new NPA tariff, but if you recall, 80 per cent of the goods coming to West Africa end up in Nigeria because of our population; that can help you draw up your estimate.”
He mentioned that once the cost of clearing is cheaper somewhere, shippers will tilt towards that side.
“Once it is cheaper elsewhere, why will they incur more costs in Nigeria where other ports within the region are not as expensive as clearing goods in Nigeria?” Orakpo said.
He urged the management of NPA to run the ports more efficiently to attract more cargo to come into Nigeria.
“Because if the ports are made more efficient, more people will use Nigerian ports instead of other West African ports,” he said.
Also speaking, the National President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Mr. Lucky Amiwero, said the whole charge will come back to the licensed customs agents, which will eventually be passed to consumers.
“All these increases are all coming back to the licensed customers and the importers. And when you are saying you are increasing and all the rest, there have been a lot of increases. A lot of increases from cargo dues and all the whole terminal, different kinds of increases. Because if you can get your cargo from Ghana and you pass it to Nigeria, that means most of the ships going to Ghana will be going to Ghana. And they will transport those things back to Nigeria,” he said.