The Shippers Association Lagos State has decried the neglect of port access roads by the Federal Government, considering container accidents and several hours spent on the roads.
The president of the association, Mr Jonathan Nicol, said this in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos.
He said that the bad state of all roads leading to the Lagos ports was also affecting haulage business.
The shipper said, “it will be a chain reaction if the truck drivers withdraw their services.’’
According to him, a sector that generates over N1 trillion annually into the coffer of the Federal government through the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is grossly neglected by government.
He said: “It is not proper to shut the ports until government appreciates the importance of providing essential infrastructure like roads and electricity.
“Our ports are in darkness at nights. There is no immediate solution in sight.
“No incentive for owners of trucks to replace the ageing vehicles.
“Loans are not granted to local port operators except expatriate competitors due to guarantee factors,’’ Nicol observed.
He also said that expatriates were neck deep in the maritime sector, adding that, “if care is not taken within the next few years, the maritime sector will be completely invaded by foreigners’’.
The shipper also said that excessive uncontrolled levies in the maritime sector had been major problems.
He said that such high charges were chasing away investors, adding that shippers should not be charged twice.
Nicol added that the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) should have been a welcome scheme if the guidelines are obeyed.
“Nigeria contributes through the shippers’ enormous fund to the ETLS.
“Nigeria will lose out if the Common External Tariff scheme is not properly controlled by the Nigeria Customs,’’ the shipper said.
Nicol said that export proceeds were being drained by excessive charges by the shipping lines and terminal operators.
He also decried the calibrated weighing scheme, which he described as one of the woes of Nigerian shippers.
Nicol stressed the need for a well-established guideline on maritime trade in addition to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which was recently introduced by the Federal Ministry of Transportation through the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
He suggested that government should come up with a decisive and firm regulation which must be obeyed by all port operators.
The shipper also advised that government should enforce liberal tariff regimes to facilitate trade the country.
Nicol urged government to appoint experts in maritime trade to restructure the maritime sector.
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