Nigeria’s Seaports at Risk of Congestion Due to Absence of Functional Rail System, Warns NSC Chief.
Nigeria’s seaports are facing an imminent risk of severe congestion due to the lack of a functional rail system for evacuating cargo to the hinterland, according to Pius Akutah, Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC).
Speaking at a sensitisation programme in Lagos on Thursday, Akutah highlighted the challenges caused by the absence of rail evacuation, which has led to delayed cargo clearance, increased demurrage costs, and a surge in trucks and tankers clogging the roads.
This situation has exacerbated traffic gridlock and increased the cost of doing business.
Akutah explained that the NSC is collaborating with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to address these challenges. The partnership aims to identify and overcome the limitations hindering NRC’s infrastructural development, streamline customs processes, and explore Public-Private Partnership (PPP) opportunities to enhance rail transport services. The goal is to promote a multimodal approach to cargo evacuation and distribution, which will help reduce costs and ease congestion at seaports.
“On February 20th, 2014, and following the concession of the Nigerian ports in 2006, aimed at making the ports effective and efficient in line with global trend and best practices, the government further pronounced the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as an Interim Ports Economic Regulator while it was confirmed as a substantive Ports Economic Regulator in April, 2015,” Akutah noted.
He also emphasized the crucial role of the NRC, which is responsible for managing public rail infrastructure and providing rail services and facilities for the transportation of goods and passengers. The collaboration between NSC and NRC is seen as a critical step toward alleviating the ongoing congestion issues at Nigeria’s seaports.
Earlier in the event, Ify Okolue, NSC Director of Inland Transport and Services, stressed that the summit’s objective was to identify the challenges facing the NRC’s infrastructural development, examine the role of the Nigeria Customs Service in facilitating seamless cargo movement, and propose practical solutions to these issues. Okolue also highlighted the potential for PPPs in enhancing rail transport services, which would support a multimodal approach to cargo evacuation and distribution across the country.
The Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, along with the NSC, is committed to creating an enabling environment for the seamless movement of cargo by rail from seaports to inland dry ports and the hinterland.
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Idowu Adejumoke, Chairman of Apapa Local Government, also addressed the summit, urging the Federal Government to address the challenges of port access roads. She expressed concern over the lack of benefits from Federal Government agencies in Apapa and called for efforts to revive the local economy, which is heavily dependent on the functioning of the seaports.
“I am not benefitting from the Federal Government agencies in Apapa; the economy of Apapa Local Government is in your hands. Let this economy thrive again,” Adejumoke urged.
