Members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) comprising manufacturers, chambers of commerce and industry, employers of labour, among others have hinted of imminent collapse of more businesses in Apapa as the gridlock continues unabated.
The consequence of this on the national economy, the OPS warned, would be more job losses and further descent of the largely distressed population into poverty.
Members of the OPS, who spoke with BusinessDay in Lagos, said in the last eight months, manufacturers had been finding it difficult to evacuate imported raw materials for their production lines, from the ports, just as they decried a sharp increase in transporting a container from the ports to their factories, from N100, 000 to between N350, 000 and N400, 000 due to port and road congestions. The national economy is said to be losing about N200 billion daily to the crisis in Apapa.
According to the OPS, additional costs of transacting business within Apapa, is already heavily impacting their bottom-line, and this could lead to a further cut in staff of member companies. The OPS comprises five key players in the Nigerian economy. These include Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture (NACCIMA), National Association of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (NASME) and National Association of Small Scale Industries (NASSI). The five business associations have over 15,000 member companies cutting across various sectors of the nation’s economy.
Segun Oshinowo, the Director General of NECA, told BusinessDay that quite a lot of businesses have closed shop and it was high time the Federal Government adopted a multi-prong approach to arresting the situation in Apapa.
He added that government needed to speed action not only on the repair of collapsed road infrastructure in Apapa, but seek a holistic approach to enhancing the ease of doing business in the area.
Speaking also, Segun Ajayi-Kadiri, the Director General of MAN, said the OPS was deeply concerned about the gridlocks and the dilapidated road to the ports. These, he said have continued to pose a challenge to businesses with grave implications for the economy.
“The challenges have paralysed business activities, engendered loss of man-power, and revenues to government. Manufacturing companies can no longer meet up with set production targets. This by all standards is not business-friendly. It takes five to eight weeks for OPS member companies to take delivery of their cargo and their vital raw materials. We affirm that this is not good for business, it hinders profitability,” Ajayi-Kadiri said.
Regina Odiah, a member of MAN who corroborated Ajayi-Kadiri’s statement, lamented that about 60 percent of manufacturing firms have relocated from Apapa.
“The Federal Government wants manufacturing companies to key into backward integration policy but it fails to provide a conducive environment and good infrastructural development,” Odiah said.
JOSHUA BASSSEY
