The Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Ports Authority, and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council have all received criticism from the chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, over the overcrowding in the country’s ports.
During his speech at the third Non-Oil Export Summit of the Central Bank of Nigeria, “Race to US$200bn In FX Repatriation,” held in Lagos on Tuesday, Dangote criticized participants in the maritime industry.
There are two issues, he said, the first of which is the terminal operators, and the second is Customs. Because it is not in their best interest for you to clear your products on time, they want to charge you demurrage, thus most of the space that terminal operators have established in the ports is basically a container-stacking lot.
“The gentlemen from the Shippers Council, you know that there are quite of lot complaints from people. You know roads are built which are supposed to lead to flawless traffic but there is still congestion. Why? Because they have turned all the space where they are supposed to allow some trucks to go in, park and load, into a stacking lot, which shouldn’t be.”
The shippers’ council and terminal operators must alter their practices, according to the wealthiest man in Africa, in order to support the nation’s export business.
“The terminal operators have to also change what they are doing now with the help of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council. The problem we have in that area is that we don’t have a very strong regulator. Shippers council, I think you need to rise and NPA (too). We are also a terminal operator, so I know what they are doing.
“What they need to do is make sure that you can clear your goods, like any other country, within 48 hours maximum. Sometimes, by the time you pay terminal charges and demurrage, there is no way you can become competitive when you export. There is a policy by the government that when you export, whatever you export, there are no charges,” he said.
