Nigeria loses N600bn monthly to ports’ gridlock — FG

Elo Edremoda, Warri

NIGERIA loses N600 billion over the persistent traffic gridlock at the various nation’s ports, the federal government has said.

It also revealed that plans had been concluded to engage relevant stakeholders to address the menace.

Chairman, House Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Mr Victor Akinjo, disclosed this during a facility tour of the Ocean and Cargo Terminal at the Warri Port, on Thursday.

Describing the N600 billion monthly loss as huge, he stated that the purpose of the visit was to interface with the maritime operators and regulators.

“When we interfaced with importers and exporters in Lagos, we discovered that the gridlock is costing Nigeria N600 billion monthly. We took it up yesterday at the level of the parliament. We want to engage all stakeholders to see what can be urgently done.

“Port is the gateway to any economy in the world. You cannot carry tonnage of goods through the air. It must come through the water. The only way to achieve this is to ensure that our ports are efficient and effective.

“The essence of the visit is to interface with the operators and regulators and take on issues I call privatisation laboratory and find ways to solving the issues,” he said.

Akinjo further commended the management of Ocean and Cargo Terminal and urged them to aggressively pursue delivery on its obligations as contained in the agreement.

Read Also: Suspected ritualist, disguised as madman, lynched in Delta

“The committee under the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Femi Gbajabiamila, is concurrent with our legislative agenda. We are very concerned that there must be fairness, justice and financial equity in things we do.

“We will not allow your investment to go down the drain nor allow the regulators to overtask you. But more importantly to allow Nigerians to benefit from every transaction,” he added.

are from the North, Middle Belt and Eastern parts which are our catchment area. They said that if the port runs optimally, they will divert their attention to this port  because of proximity and other reasons,” he said.

Okeke pointed out that the port was in synergy with the Nigeria Navy and the host community to ensure adequate security.