Nigeria losing N600bn monthly to Apapa gridlock, says reps committee

The federal government says it has concluded plan to engage relevant stakeholders to address the persistent traffic gridlock at the nation’s ports.

Victor Akinjo, chairman of the house of representatives committee on privatisation and commercialisation, was speaking on Thursday during the committee’s tour of the facility at the Ocean and Cargo terminal in Warri.

Akinjo said the gridlock costs Nigeria about N600 billion monthly which he said was a huge loss.

“When we interfaced with importers and exporters in Lagos, we discovered that the traffic gridlock is costing Nigeria N600 billion monthly,” he said.

“We took it up on Wednesday at the level of the parliament; we want to engage all stakeholders to see what can be done urgently.”

The committee chairman said the purpose of the visit was to interface with the maritime operators and regulators.

“Port is the gateway to any economy in the world. You cannot carry tonnage of goods through the air, it must come through the water.

“The only way to achieve this is to ensure that our ports are efficient and effective.

“The essence of the visit is to interface with the operators and regulators and take on issues I called privatisation laboratory and find ways to solving the issues.”

Akinjo commended the management of Ocean and Cargo Terminal, urging them to aggressively pursue delivery on its obligations as contained in the agreement.

Responding, Olatunji Olusinde, the executive director (legal unit)of Ocean and Cargo Terminal, said that the company would create about 300 direct jobs when it comes on stream.

Olusinde said that skeletal operations would commence in January 2020.

“The real port terminal operations cannot commence until the channel is dredged,” he said.

“Only lighter vessels and barges can come in now and those are not commercially viable for terminal operators.

“So, we are appealing to the government to hasting action on the dredging of the channel.

“This port is strategic, a gateway to the East, North and the Middle belt. Besides, it will ease the burden of congestion that we are witnessing in Lagos,” he said.

Okeke Okeke, the Delta Port manager, said the port would create a multiplier effect when it runs optimally.