Nigeria Loses N600bn Monthly To Gridlock

The Federal Government says it has concluded plan to engage relevant stakeholders to address the persistent gridlock at the nation’s ports. Rep. Victor Akinjo, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, made this known on Thursday during the committee’s tour of facility at the Ocean and Cargo Terminal in Warri.

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

“When we interface with importers and exporters in Lagos, we discovered that the gridlock was costing Nigeria N600 billion monthly.

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

Responding, Mr Olatunji Olusinde, the Executive Director (Legal Unit)/Secretary, 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. (NAN)