conscious efforts by the government to reduce the cost of doing business at the ports, insisting that there cannot be ease of doing business when there is no reduction in cost of services.
In advanced countries, the shipping lines and oil companies come together to fix roads for the government by way of corporate social responsibility. That does not happen here because most governments want the money in their hands, and there is the tendency for the money to be embezzled once that happens. This simply needs to change. The colonial masters built Apapa Port through collective efforts, and we have Nigerians who can even finance all these things.
Shippers are not supposed to get involved in road construction, but we did. Dangote is part of our prime members and it came out so solve this problem to the best of its ability, and I think that the government should be very considerate with us that shippers have gone far beyond their limit. This year, we will come together. We are discussing with the Nigerian Shippers Council to set up our intervention team.
Many do not still believe the way things have gone bad at the ports, but everyone will come to terms with that once some industries shut down in 2021 if something is not done quickly to correct the situation. As we speak, some factories have not been able to take delivery of raw materials that they imported even though all charges have been paid.
Nigeria shippers are faced with unexpected bills from the carriers, including the Peak Season Surcharge , which witnessed an astronomical 400 per cent increase. Recently, another surcharge surfaced and contributed to increase the cost of shipping on our export cargo. The collapse of our Import Adjustments Policies also affected imports drastically. The Nigeria Customs Service was given a blank cheque to pursue revenue at all cost. It jettisoned trade facilitation under the World Customs Organisation’s treaties, thereby, militarising the trade platforms with gun-totting customs officers.