Oluyinka Onigbinde
Checks by Shipping Position Daily have revealed that a total of 1400 containers were moved to Kaduna Inland Dry Port in the first quarter of 2022
According to data obtained by our correspondent, a total of 466 Containers were moved to KIDP in January, while in February, a total of 494 containers were moved; in March 440 containers were moved totaling 1400 containers moved from Lagos port to the Kaduna-based off-dock facility.
Also, data obtained by our correspondent from the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) revealed that a total of 36,470 tonnes of cargo were moved by rail in the first quarter of 2022.
According to a breakdown in January 2022, 12,952 tonnes of cargoes were moved, while in February there was an increase in cargo movement by rail with a record of 13,326 tonnes of cargoes moved and in the month of March there was a decline in cargo movement by rail as it records only 10,192 tonnes of cargo movement putting the total cargo movement for first quarter 2022 to be 36,470 tonnes
Record of cargoes moved by barges revealed that over 3 million twenty feet equivalent units (TEUs) of cargoes were moved via barges from Lagos ports to other parts of the country in the last four years
The President of Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN), Mr. Olubunmi Olumekun, in a recent interview with our correspondent, informed that barges have moved over 3 million TEUs of cargoes between 2019 and 2022, aside from containers, he informed that over 25,000 trucks and metric tons of cargoes were also moved from the Lagos ports by barges annually. Olumekun informed that since the barge became operational in the country it has only recorded only four accidents so far.
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Olumekun while decrying plans by the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) to concession barge operations in the country said NPA lacks the constitutional backing to concession barge operations in the country, he argued that NPA do not own the barges and as such cannot concession it.
He said “Sometimes I laugh when I hear things like this, can you concession what you don’t have? NPA is not the owner of the barges, how then can they concession it, you only concession what you have, even for the jetties NPA only owns two jetties; Apapa jetty and that of Ikorodu, they can only regulate they can’t concession it.
“This is why Cabotage is not working in Nigeria; they want to give it to foreigners or what? Barging is 100% indigenous business why should it be concession” he questioned.
He stated that barge operations are critical to reducing gridlocks on port roads while seeking government intervention to come to the aid of barge operators in the country.
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