Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has raised concerns over the continued traffic congestion within the Apapa ports and the blockage of roads leading to the ports, describing its effect on businesses as colossal.
Olusegun Oshinowo, director-general of NECA, says businesses are being stifled as a result of the impasse, as companies involved in importation of sensitive raw materials and finished products, including pharmaceuticals materials, are forced to pay outrageous demurrage.
He notes that demurrage on 20-foot and 40-foot containers are N60,000 and N90,000 per day, respectively.
According to Oshinowo, clearing these goods from the ports has become a herculean task. Where these goods and raw materials are finally retrieved, they may have to be destroyed due to quality challenges related to temperature issues, having overstayed beyond safe period in the ports.
He explains: “To compound the already bad situation, there is the heavy demurrage that is being incurred as a result of the congestion and delays, which is neither the fault of the companies nor within their control.”
He says where the container stays from June and only released in mid-August, it would have accrued a demurrage of N6.84 million in one 40-foot container alone.
“This is apart from the increased freight cost from transporters due to the significant down time of haulage trucks caused by the congestion,” he says.
This accounts for the rising cases of abandoned containers and imports at the ports, he adds.
While commending the ongoing efforts by government to clear the Apapa ports of congestions, NECA urges that urgent steps be taken to stem the dire economic hardships that companies are going through in using the ports.
Oshinowo called on the Federal Government to direct the Customs Service to exercise 100 percent waiver of the massive demurrage incurred by companies due to the congestion and delays. This according to him will put action to government’s avowed commitment to improving ease of doing business in the country.
JOSHUA BASSEY
