Shippers Council Express Concerns Over 24-days Delay of Export Cargoes At Port

…As Shippers Association Inaugurate National Body

By DAPO OLAWUNI

The Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council, Barr Hassan Bello has said that export cargoes still suffer 20-days and 24-days delay before gaining access into the port, while imported cargoes suffer 21-days cargo dwell time at the port.

He said that in other neighbouring ports, cargoes spend just 7-days dwell time at the port.

Bello stated this on Tuesday at the Election and Inauguration of the National Shippers Association of Nigeria (NASAN) at the Council’s headquarters in Apapa, Lagos.

He assured that the Council is already in talks with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the need for Nigerian Shippers to have access to finance, information and connections on the international market.

Speaking, he said “There are many shippers who are exporting now, and one of the problems is access to the port, we have cargoes that spend 20-days and 24days before they gain access into the port, we have struggled so much to ensure that this is not done”

“We need exporters who are Shippers to also have free access to the port, they should have access to information about the market, they should also have access to finance”

“The same situation is with importers, there are issues at the port, cargoes have 21-days dwell time, meanwhile it is 7-days at our competing neighboring ports”

The Shippers Council boss said it is the duty of the newly inaugurated NASAN to engage the government and ensure reduction in dwell time of cargo.

“You should also ask for the simplification of processes and procedures, we should ask for digitalisation of our ports.

“I am happy to inform you that digitalisation of our ports has gotten to a very critical stage where most of our terminals have really grown up, we are insisting that they must have 90percent compliance, the banks must come in, so that you can transact even without coming to Lagos, the freight forwarders, truckers and shipping lines must be online, this would stop the corruption going on at the port”

He enjoin the group to elect officers who are genuine and regular importers and exporters to pilot the affairs of the NASAN.

Bello urged NASAN to speak with one voice so as to boost their bargaining power nationally and internationally.

According to Bello, the purpose of establishing the national body of shippers association apart from enhancing the bargaining power of the associations to negotiate with their stakeholders, locally and internationally was to increase their visibility in the shipping industry.

He lamented that for so long, the Nigerian Shippers have neglected their roles in the hands of freight forwarders, meanwhile as cargoes owners, they are supposed to be engaging government directly and even to issue instructions to the Nigerian Shippers Council.

“They need to have strong voice, be organised and that is why the councill is here to bring them together,, have the capacity to negotiate freight trade, shipping procedure, shipping instrument like bill of laden, incoterms – International Commercial Terms, the contract of affreightment, contract of carriage of goods.

He pointed out that NASAN should ensure its members participate actively in the newly established African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to ensure that its members benefit optimally in all relevant sectors of the regime.

At the end of the electioneering process, Dr Innocent Akuvue, President of Rivers Bayelsa Shippers Association (RIBASA) emerged winners and President General of NASAN for the next two years.

Muhammed Jamilu Umar emerged as Vice President, while Ijeoma Ezeosor is the Secretary General.
Other elected officers include; Barr Ibrahim Mustapha as Assistant Secretary, Ayo Odekunle as Treasurer, Otaka Kalu Uche as Financial Secretary and Muazu Yakubu as the National Welfare Officer.

In his victory speech, the new NASAN President, Innocent Akuvue vowed that he would work with maritime stakeholders on different ports and try to streamline procedures and processes to make clearing, importing and exporting much more convenient.

He added that it would not be a case of the association working alone, as if they don’t synergize with other people, they would not work effectively.

“This is an association that we created to carter for shippers, and they are importers, exporters and their goods.

“Our role is to create enough awareness for shippers to know what their likes are, for them to know how to process imports and exports documentations.

“There are a lot is issues, like port congestions, this is because people have imported things that they are not meant to import, also because they did not follow the processes right.

“My work with my team is to create enough sensitisation,and awareness on how people need to do business and to do it right. So going forward, we are going to see a total new organisation, a set of shippers within a short time,” he said.

He noted that he was not in a hurry to dwell into policies that affect shippers which needed to be changed, but needed to sit down and go through those policies, digest and understand them better before coming out with anything.

He said that on issue of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s increase in exchange rate for customs duty, he posited on the need to understand why it was done, as they would not want to rush to criticise policies.

“ I am an importer so I know the change that are sacred but now that I am going to speaks from an organisation, we need to understand why certain positions are taken before we make our own case,” he said.