Nigeria’s maritime sector went backward in 2016 —Operators

Operators in the Nigerian maritime sector have said that in 2016, the sector went some steps backward. This is even as the seaport operators labelled the year as the worst ever since the ports were concessioned.

Speaking with Nigerian Tribune exclusively, spokesman of the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Bolaji Akinola said that ports activities dried up completely in 2016.

According to him, “2016 has been a very difficult year for port operations. I n fact, it has been the worst year since the advent of port operations in this country. It has never been this bad for terminal operators.

“During the NJIC meeting, something unprecedented happened. Dockworkers asked operators not to review their salaries. It has never happened in the history of dock labour in Nigeria. For the dockworkers to ask that their salaries should not be reviewed speaks volume.

“Dockworkers will always agitate for better wage conditions. But if by themselves, they now ask operators not to border about increasing their salaries, then it shows you the enormity of the problem in the Nigerian maritime sector.

“It is that bad. The ports have dried up. Usually, by this time of the year, it will be very difficult to go into or come out of Apapa port. By the yuletide season like this, activities in the ports would have increased that going in or coming out becomes and herculean task. But go to Apapa now, the roads are as free as ever because there is no cargo volume.

“The main reason for this drawbacks, we have said severally are government policies that have wiped cargoes away from Nigerian seaports. These unfavourable policies include the Auto policy (which brought about a hike in import duty of vehicles), hike in rice duty which has led to the downturn of activities at the bulk cargo ports, the fish quota system and the CBN’s forex restriction on 41 items.

“Aside all this problems, the drop in the value of the Naira also affected importation. Many importers could not do as much as they used to do because of the low value of the Naira.

“We just hope that as we begin the New Year, government will look into this polices and reverse them, especially the CBN forex restriction policy.”

When reminded that government has taken the bold step to ban importation of vehicles through the land borders, Bolaji Akinola stated that, “the ban on importation of vehicles through the land border will not be effective without a corresponding slash in the tariff of vehicles. Otherwise, smuggling will only go up.

“If government accompanies that policy of banning importation of vehicles through the land border with a slash in the tariff of vehicles at the ports, then government would have succeeded in wresting back to Nigerian ports all our lost cargoes that are being diverted to our neighbouring ports.

“I will give you a practical example of what may happen if government does not bring down the tariff of vehicles at the ports; look at rice, the commodity has been banned through the land border before now, yet there is no reduction in the quantity of foreign rice in Nigerian markets.

“Those imported rice you see everywhere did not come into the country through the ports. You can go to the ports to see things for yourself. There are no rice vessels at the ports, yet imported rice keeps flooding our local markets. How do they come in? Smuggling of cause.”

“The same thing may happen with ban on vehicle importation. That is why we are advising government to slash the tariff to 10 percent like what it obtainable in those neighbouring ports so that we can be at par with those ports.

“We are very much in support of government as regards local manufacturing of vehicles and other products, but local manufacturing itself is hindered by many problems which include unstable power provision, bad roads and several others. Until those issues are fixed, local manufacturing of vehicles will remain comatose.”

On the cargo evacuation chain of port operations, agents also gave a gloomy appraisal of the year 2016 inside Nigerian seaports. Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune exclusively, National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Olayiwola Shittu stated that, “in 2016, all the expectations were not realised. The most worrisome aspect of 2016 is that all government agencies are more interested in revenue generation rather than developing the sector or facilitating trade.

“With the economic downturn, Nigerian ports became very unfriendly in 2016 because every government agencies worked for its own interest. We hope that 2017 will be better because in 2016, importers suffered a lot due to many issues.”