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By Steve Agbota
The President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Mr. Lucky Amiwero has lamented Nigeria’s transshipment hub status lost to Ghana, Benin Republic, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire.
Amiwero disclosed this in Lagos when he marked his 71st birthday and unveiling of a compendium of activities of the Council’s achievements over the years, he said Nigeria lost his preferred destination trade trade in West Africa sub-region due to lack investment in port infrastructure.
Daily Sun learnt that creating a maritime hub at any given time translates to level of investment in infrastructure to make these ports competitive and dominant in maritime trade.
However, Amiwero said that the neighbouring ports have already positioned their ports as millennium ports, preferred, transshipment or load center, adding that most West African ports built their ports to accommodate Nigerian bound cargo knowing about the country’s poor infrastructure.
“You go to Togo, it is almost a hub port, talking about Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, Ghana’s port operation level is higher than Nigeria. Ghana now has transit trade, they have taken over our transit trade.
“The transshipment destination now is not in Nigeria, it is from Togo, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. We have a problem, the problem is that we do not have experts in these areas,” he added.
However, he identified inefficient port system as the reason why the country lost the transshipment hub status to other West African countries.
He said the neigbours are building their countries with Nigerian cargo, saying Nigeria allowed that to happened because it has the throughput and the markets.
He said asides the fact that Nigeria has the throughput, the nation’s processes are cumbersome, lengthy and they are very expensive.
He said except there is a change in infrastructure rehabilitation, Nigeria will continue to lose cargoes to neighbouring countries, who have developed their deep seaports with better facilities.
