There is anxiety among port operators at Calabar port in Cross Rivers state, especially at the Calabar Free Trade Zone as the state government recently introduced the controversial Wharf Landing Fees to be paid by operators.
The Wharf Landing Fees was first introduced in Lagos in 2009 and even though it attracted a lot of stakeholders’ opposition, the fee has come to stay.
Under the Lagos wharf landing fees, importer would pay N1,000 on 40ft container, N500 on every 20ft container and N300 on every vehicle imported through the ports.
Reacting to this development, Managing Director of the Calabar Free Trade Zone, Engr Godwin Okinba Ekpe kicked against the introduction of the fees by the Cross Rivers State government ,saying that it was not captured in the Act setting up the Free Trade Zone.
He warned that introduction of such a strange levy would further add to the cost of doing business and discourage investors who are already leaving the zone.
Already, he said that activities in the zone have been crippled due to the shallow draft of the Calabar Channel and activities of Niger Delta militants.
"We have different fees including the wharf landing fees which are not supposed to be introduced or captured in the Act creating the Calabar Free Trade Zone. We are working with the State Government to ensure that it does not constitute a distraction to investments in the zone"
"Already, we have issues of vessels not berthing in Calabar due to the problem of dredging which has been militating against us till date, we have to go as far as Warri, Onne and Port Harcourt Ports to discharge our cargoes meant for Calabar Free Trade Zone"
"There is no road to Calabar linking any other parts of the country. Before now, 90 percent of the trade was between Calabar and the North and the shortest means of accessing the North was through Calabar, we go to as far as Jos and Bauchi, but today the roads are impassable"
"Recently, the security situation which is a national issue has also spilled over to the state where the waterways is unsafe because of the activities of the Niger Delta militants" Ekpe said.
He noted that the creation of the zone in 1992 is to ensure that the cost of doing business is minimised, but unfortunately because of the monetary policies of the government, there is a high cost of doing business and this has discouraged investments in the zone.
He appealed to the NPA to look into dredging of the channel, saying that containers fall on the roads and before operators could get there they have been vandalised.
"As a zone management, we have made several contacts with the Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Army to make sure that these challenges are controlled"
On the Wharf Landing Fees, Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman has however vowed to hold discussions with the state government on the fees.
Hadiza at a press briefing last week stated that, " we have held discussions with the Cross Rivers state government, we are internally reviewing the legality of that, we noted that the Lagos State Government has passed same law and it has been implementing same"
"Cross Rivers State is on the verge of implementing same law, we will conclude our position and pass to them".
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