How Customs and NPA bureaucracy push importers to Cotonou port – Former NESG chairman

Former Chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Kyari Bukar, on Friday lamented that the inefficiency and bureaucracy of the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies such as the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) were costing Nigeria trade volumes to the ports of neighboring Benin Republic.

He noted that a large volume of international shipments now enter Nigeria through ports in the French-speaking West African country as traders and importers find them efficient and congestion-free.

Bukar, Managing Partner at Trans-Saharan Investment Corporation, stated this while appearing on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme on Channels Television on Friday.

He said Customs should focus on its role as a facilitator of trade and economic development rather than on revenue generation. He added that Customs red tape at ports and congestion were part of a vicious cycle of corruption.

The chairman of SUNU Assurance Plc also urged the Federal Government to improve the energy sector if it is serious about economic development.

He said: “Electricity must be available because it is one of the important catalysts for economic development,” he said.

“Infrastructure such as railways, bridges, highways and ports must be in good condition.

“One of the inefficiencies of our ports has given rise to the efficiencies of neighboring ports. I was in Cotonou a few months ago and you can see a real improvement in the infrastructure in that city. This is a port city and when you look at the capacity of their port and what they have imported.

“A friend of mine told me about his trip to Brazil and how he went to a meat exporting company and asked them: ‘Do you export to Nigeria?’ They looked at the list and said, ‘No.’

“He was confused and asked if they export to Africa and they said ‘Yes, West Africa is our biggest export in the export zone, Benin Republic’. My friend laughed and said based on the volume you mentioned, if every citizen of that country (Benin Republic) eats half a cow a day, they will not finish it all, which means the cows are being sent back to Nigeria.”

Bukar said the incompetent state of Nigeria’s ports could cause one of Africa’s major economies to miss out on the benefits accruing from the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by the African Union which targets a single continental market for goods and services on the continent.

He added: “So, they (importers) use their ports because they are more efficient and with AfCFTA, we might even lose. So, we have to act together. What we say must be followed by what we do.

“If we say we are open for business, and then you come to the port and you are harassed by six or seven agents, do you want to do business in that country? It’s difficult when you have the other option, which is just call, send a consignment note, someone comes there, gets it done, no hassle, everything is smooth, no demurrage.

“The demurrage in Nigeria itself is comparable to what we charge for customs and that is a significant portion, which means that we have inefficient port management. So you are hampering economic growth because the flow of money is very important; goods have to come in and be cleared, and goods have to go out very quickly.

“I’ve had clients complain to the President’s Committee on Tax Reform that their exports are rotting in our ports. And this is a country where we get more imports than exports. That basically means some of the containers (used for imports) are empty when they arrive. So why don’t we take advantage of that and move the goods as fast as possible.”

By: Babajide Okeowo

Post How Customs and NPA red tape push importers to Cotonou port – Former NESG chairman appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.