The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has lamented the destruction of truckloads of export items at the famous ECOWAS loading bay at the Apongbon area of Lagos Island by heavy rains and rodents.
Recall that Shipping Position Daily had reported that more than 85 trucks loaded with beverages and other consumables were stranded at the bay, with some of the goods been destroyed by rodents and rainfall.
The export manager of the loading bay Alhaji Ganiu Dosunmu had lamented that over N10 billion have been lost so far due to the Federal Government directives on land border closure. He said that the trucks that had been loaded with items meant for neighbouring West African nations.
Reacting to the story, the LCCI Director General; Mr. Muda Yusuf said it was unfortunate that the exporters had to go through such a situation, he however urged the federal government to have a rethink, even as he opined that it was not enough to look at the benefits of the closures without looking at the disadvantages to the country.
According to him, “it is very unfortunate that they(exporters) are in such a situation, my appeal to the government is that the embargo should be lifted as soon as possible, because it is not just enough to look at the benefits of the closure, we should also be looking at the cost, the cost of the closure to us is also enormous”.
He advised that rather than shut the borders, government should restrategise. “The emphasis should shift to how we can get our house in order, how we can properly police our border, how we can get the Customs and other relevant agencies to do their work the way they should do, and how we can also invest properly on our ports so that our port can become competitive”, he argued.
Yusuf noted that Nigeria is losing cargoes to neighboring ports, due to the situation of our ports, adding that not all business men are into illegal business.
“Some people go to the neighbouring country port because of the situation of our own port a lot of people are doing legitimate business just like your report on the export loading bay in Lagos, and a lot of people are complaining, not just in South West alone, but even in the North, and these people cannot export these goods, many of these goods are destined for other west African countries”, he said.
The LCCI DG further asked for the phone numbers and other details of the export loading bay, as he said the chamber will also get across to them for further information.
He also commended Shipping Position Daily for the detailed exclusive story.
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