Nigerian exporters and truck owners under the aegis of Association of West African Exporters and Maritime Professionals (AWAEMAP) and Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Associations (COMTUA) have cried out against ongoing attempt by the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr. Mohammed Bello -Koko to use his office to establish five warehouses that will handle agro-export containers seeking access into Nigerian ports for onward shipments to various destinations across the globe.
The associations warned that this move if allowed will stifle over 200 approved export warehouses across the country and render hundreds of thousands of Nigerians jobless.
National President of COMTUA, Comrade Adeyinka Aroyewun, lamented that the export processing terminals being planned by NPA would chase them out of business.
“The plan is that when we bring cargo to the processing terminals, they ask us to go. Their trucks will now take the cargo from the terminal into the port.
“Everybody knows that the trucks that take export into the port will load import cargo out. This means they are gradually dragging us out of business,” he intoned.
The President of AWAEMAP who doubles as the President of Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN), Hon. Bunmi Olumekun, said the the plan to introduce few designated warehouses as export processing terminals will make Nigerian export cargo uncompetitive and cause loss of jobs.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees, AWAEMAP, Alhaji Inaolaji Laidi Nofiu, stated that the plan negates Customs and Excise Management Act and not in tune with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council’s DEW.
The associations noted that there is an attempt by certain persons to use the instrumentality of the public office they occupy to enrich themselves whilst intentionally suffocating and strangulating the livewire of the Nigerian economy.
They accused the Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) especially the Managing Director, Mr. Mohammed Bello-Koko of seeking to introduce a new Standard Operating System (S.0.P) to establish a One Stop Shop Terminal for Agro- Export Containers referred to as ‘Domestic Export Warehouse’ (DEW) and are meant to serve the purpose of providing a One-Stop-Shop of all Government regulatory agencies to process all Agro-Export containers and also serve as the ONLY PRE-GATE terminals for all Agro-Export Container boxes seeking access into the Nigerian Ports and all other port complexes in Nigeria for onward shipments to various destinations across the globe.
They noted that the resolution to introduce these warehouses would have been applauded if such decision is made to ensure the warehouses complement the already existing numerous Customs licensed warehouses scattered all over the country but regretted that the decision is to refuse entry into the Nigerian ports all over the country any Agro- Export bound container that has not made use of these five warehouses.
According to the associations, the actions of the NPA in designating these few warehouses as the ONLY Warehouses where export bound containers would be accepted for gating in is in direct contravention of the Customs and Excise Management Act CAP 84 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 (‘the Customs Act”) especially Part IV, Section 82 which clearly makes provisions for the use of licensed warehouses including private warehouses for the purpose of processing export bound goods.
“This decision is being enabled by the MD of NPA as a pension plan to ensure he continues to enrich himself even after his tenure at the helms of the NPA comes to an end. The MD of NPA who has disclosed and undisclosed interest in these warehouses has decided that for his ulterior motives to come to light, he must likewise destroy that of the Nigerian economy while at the same time increasing the unemployment rate of Nigerians. We understand that out of the 5 (Five) of these warehouses being sought to be introduced, 2 (Two) are owned and operated by foreign entities,” they emphasized.
“The consequence of the implementation of this policy is firstly, that all the existing Licensed Customs/FPIS Warehouses used, owned and managed by our members nationwide would become useless. These DEW which are very limited in number would be overrun by thousands of Agro Export Containers thereby creating another round of congestions in and around the Ports environment.
“This policy would take the export industry several years back after all the improvements and achievement that has been recorded since the introduction and Implementation of the Electronic Call-Up System through the ETO mobile App,” they lamented.
They noted that ETO E-call up system introduced recently by the current administration after several painstaking brainstorming sessions with the industry stakeholders in the entire maritime sector inclusive of the associations has indeed brought commendable improvements in the entire operations of the Apapa Ports area of Lagos state which is the epicenter of all export activities in Nigeria.
“This new system has ensured that Agro-Export container boxes spend less time on the highways ensuring better service and higher yield in the export industry of Nigeria.
“It is manifestly certain that if Mr. Bello-Koko is allowed to implement this repugnant policy, it would render nugatory all these improvements and sanity we are witnessing in the Apapa ports area of Lagos State,” the associations warned.
Noting that the policy that Mr. Bello-Koko is so much bent on introducing would increase the overall cost of exportation of the Agro-Export containers of Nigeria, they warned that invariably Nigeria’s exportation prowess would decrease as exporters would be forced to sell at a loss as the international rates of exportable cash crops take no cognizance of the exorbitant cost of exportation of the country due to the greed of a select few.
“With the introduction of this policy, exporters would be forced to pay for: Handling Charge, Weighbridge, Documentation charge, Examination Position Fee, Trucking to Port & Storage Charges cumulatively amounting to about $650 extra charges per container box. It is instructive to state that all these charges listed would have been incurred by exporters prior to accessing this DEW which invariably leads to double expenditure for exporters.
“Currently, Agro-Export containers departing from neighboring countries like Republic of Benin come at a cost of minimum $200 cheaper than exporting same value Agro export container box from any port within Nigeria due to the numerous regulatory and logistics challenges bedeviling our maritime export industry. Our members are already finding it hard to survive competing with our neighboring countries, this move by the Mr. Bello-Koko would force most Nigerian exporters to begin to channel our export produces through these neighboring countries. It is imperative at this juncture to bring to the attention of the general public the actions of this public servant, as the ripple effect of this policy would cut across all spheres of the Nigerian economy,” they stated emphatically.
NPA officials could not be reached for comments.