Nigerian ports uncompetitive as delay in clearance processes persists

Delay in the clearance processes of goods at Nigerian ports renders the business arena uncompetitive as the number of days it takes to complete import and export processes elongates and attracts more costs.

However, to achieve the target of 48-hour cargo clearance at the seaports and boost efficiency, trade facilitation and further investments, the Federal Government has approved a National Single Window platform. But analysts say the political will to implement the process remains a challenge to tackle.

“In the maritime sector, the President has approved a single window. If we introduce the single window, corruption will stop in the maritime sector. If you want to eliminate corruption, you have to computerise the system,” Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transport, said at a maritime stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, recently.

Amaechi noted that “the reason corruption thrives is that there are so many human beings you have to meet before taking delivery of your cargo, and if you don’t deal with them you would not get your cargo.”

A single window is an interfaced model where individual data elements are submitted once to a single entry point such as a gateway server, internet, or value added network service provider to fulfil all import, export and transit-related regulatory requirements. This enables multiple procedures to be performed from a single submission.

Under the interfaced model, each regulatory agency will maintain its own automated system but will connect with other systems through specially developed electronic interfaces. This process is aimed at reducing cargo turnaround time and eliminates corruption in the process.

Valentino Mintah, CEO of West Blue Consulting, noted that “the reason the National Single Window in Nigeria has not taken off fully is because it is yet to gain Federal Government’s political will, which will compel all regulatory agencies in import and export business to key into the Single Window Platform.”

Mintah identified excessive bureaucracy‎ as the most severe constraint to trade processing in Africa.

Findings show that the cost of doing business at Nigerian seaports is relatively higher as a result of multiple human interfaces. And this is causing the country huge revenue loss as the cargoes meant to be cleared in Nigeria are been diverted to neighbouring ports where the cost of transactions are lower compared with Nigerian ports due to unified processes.

According to World Bank report on easy of doing business in 2015, Nigeria ranked 170 out of 189 countries, while Ghana ranked 70, Togo 149 and Benin Republic 151. The data show that Nigeria has a higher challenging business environment compared to other neighbouring countries.

Also, measuring the cost of clearing goods in Nigeria, it is equally higher; where a 20-foot container costs $1,360 in Ghana, Benin $1,487, and Togo $1,190, and it costs $1,960 in Nigeria. These associated fees include costs for documents, administrative fees for customs clearance and technical control, customs broker fees, terminal handling charges and inland transport, according to the World Bank.

Another area that is affecting ports operations in Nigeria is the deplorable conditions of the ports access roads. The access roads leading to the two major ports in Lagos, Apapa and Tin Can ports are in very bad conditions, coupled with blockages caused by fuel tankers and trailers.

Lucky Amiwero, president, National Council of Managing Director of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), told BusinessDay that the deplorable state of the access roads leading to the nation’s seaports in Lagos had negatively affected port operations.

Amiwero said “lack of maintenance of the roads is hindering cargo clearance, thereby wasting man-hour on the roads. The roads have killed businesses in Apapa completely. If you go to Apapa, most businesses have left the area because of terrible traffic gridlock.”

Apart from the e-payment system in which Nigeria is about four years ahead of other neighbouring countries, Nigerian ports cannot compete with the ports of Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic, he said.

On cargo dwell time, he said “Nigeria has a scattered port system that prolongs the number of days it takes to get a container out of the port,” saying “it takes fewer days to clear a container from the ports of Togo, Ghana and Benin compared to the longer days it takes in Nigeria.”