Niger Republic's Shipping Companies to return to Nigerian ports in October

Niger Republic's Shipping Companies to return to Nigerian ports in October

Shipping companies in Niger Republic are to return to Nigerian ports in October for cargo clearance, 10 years after they pulled out of Nigeria.

A Representative of the national shipping council of Niger Republic, Idi
Hamissou, made the disclosure in an interview with a correspondent
of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ikeja on Sunday.

Mr. Hamissou spoke to NAN on the sidelines of a forum with media
executives, hosted by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shipping
Council (NSC), Hassan Bello, to announce the unveiling of reforms at
Nigerian ports.

The envoy said that shipping companies in his country had resolved to return to Nigeria to do business, following the latest reforms being
implemented by the NSC.

Nigerian ports have for years been notorious for imposing a regime of
taxations and sustaining a legacy of under-hand activities.

The development forced many shipping companies to relocate to
neighbouring countries, especially Benin Republic, which now handles
over 40 per cent of cargo meant for Nigeria, analysts say.

“We had used Nigerian ports since 1958 but the concessioning of the
ports drove our shipping companies out of Nigeria in 2006.

“But going to Togo, Ghana and even Cameroon has not been easy for
our shipping companies, so we’re returning to Nigerian ports next
month, to be fully on ground in October.”

Mr. Hamissou said Niger Republic and Nigeria shared a strategic land
border, spanning some 1,600 km, making it imperative for the two
nations to take advantage of business opportunities existing between
them.

Mr. Bello said the NSC had spent about one billion naira in the past one year on ICT infrastructure to ease the stress of doing business at the ports. He noted that agencies at the ports would eventually be pruned from 10 to 2.

He said the trucking system at the ports had also been overhauled,
explaining that every truck operator would have no fewer than six
trucks to be allowed to operate at the ports.

“We’re working with the National Automotive Council on the matter
because having 7,000 trucks daily on the Apapa-Lagos axis is
unimaginable.

“We have to increase the efficiency of the ports to boost business at
Nigerian ports; we are asking for a review of the Act establishing the
NSC to give us teeth to bite,” Mr. Bello stated.

The executive secretary disclosed that the NSC was also working with
the governments of Kogi, Kaduna and Enugu States for the
development of parks for trucks conveying cargo as part of efforts to
remove articulated vehicles from highways.

He expressed his optimism that the port reforms would boost
businesses in Nigeria and make various agencies at the ports to
increase their revenue targets.