Dangote Cement Dominates Export At Seme Border, As WARTU Cry for Support

…Seeks Waiver for Nigerian Exporters

By DAPO OLAWUNI

Fresh indications have emerged that exportation of cargoes through the Seme-Krake land borders is dead and taken over by Dangote Cement, even as the West African Road Transport Union (WARTU) has called on Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote to support the union.

In an exclusive chat with DAILY TREND at the border post last week, Coordinator of WARTU and Vice Chairman of National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) Seme Border Chapter, Mr Peter Umukoro lamented that exportation of Nigerian products through Seme Border is dead.

According to him, the only thing bringing some semblance of life at the borders is the exportation of Dangote Cement.

Mr Umukoro said that whenever Dangote trucks are unleashed for exportation, the union plays a major role in ensuring that there is no traffic congestion.

He however said Dangote has refused to show love or encourage WARTU for the good job being carried out.

Speaking, he said “We work at the border to ensure that there is no traffic congestion, when Dangote trucks are coming, they come out in hundreds, if we are not there to control traffic, there would be traffic jam and even pedestrians cannot move freely, we are doing our job, but what we need now is encouragement.

“For we WARTU, we need encouragement, especially from Dangote Cement, they are not showing us any love, I must confess to you, and it is really hurting us.

“However, we have signed for the job and we have to do it, whether Dangote shows us love or not, we leave our case to God, we are working like elephants but we are not even eating at all, we are dying.

“It is only Dangote Cement Export that is making things happen at the border for now, but for those engaging in private export, it is not funny, the question is do you have NXP, do you have all the required documents to run it?

“We are sending an appeal to Dangote Cement because WARTU are the ones doing the ‘dirty job’ here to make sure his trucks come into the border freely and go out freely, but we are not seeing any encouragement”

“We are just working and dying, some of our counterparts have lost their lives, some have ran away, some of our counterparts at Benin Republic do not come to work again because at the end of the day, they go back home empty handed and they have wives and children” he lamented

Mr Umukoro explained that as a transport union, the body could generate funds through sales of tickets, he however said this is usually considered as a trade barrier at the border.

“So, rather, we use diplomacy, while also relying on some good meaning people who see our jobs and compensate us with small handouts, that’s what we live by” he said

The WARTU Coordinator called on the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to find a way of helping Nigerian exporters that engage in exportation by granting them waivers.

“When you run export, you must have an NXP, and when you run the NXP, you must repatriate the dollars. The repatriation is the problem, it is not that doing the exportation is a problem.

“Private business people that come to do business in groupage, for instance, twenty people can come together to load cargoes in a single truck, among them all, who will repatriate the money? It is really frustrating”

“If you don’t have NXP, you cannot export, and if you have an NXP and you don’t repartriate, the CBN would blacklist your company and it would be too bad” he lamented