- Manufacturers accuse officials of sabotage
The cost of haulage has gone up by 32 per cent following the federal government’s decision to shut sections of the Apapa-Tin Can road since Saturday, December 7 for palliative work, investigation by Daily Trust has revealed.
The government had in 2018 started the journey towards finding permanent solution to the gridlock on the Apapa area by reconstructing the Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonsoki-Ojota Expressway.
The Vice Chairman, Presidential Task Team on Apapa Restoration of Law and Order, Mr Kayode Opeifa, while speaking on the closure, said the restriction of movement would be for about 72 hours, and that the palliative work would ease movement when completed.
Opeifa also stated that truck drivers had been asked to leave the restricted portions for ease of movement during the repair work, adding that they were complying.
He assured the general public that the discomfort would be temporary, and the project would be completed on schedule.
He said the contractor had agreed to continue with the work even during the end of year holidays in order to complete it early.
However, no sooner was the announcement to shut sections of the port road made than the price of haulage skyrocketed, putting an extra burden on importers who have to pay higher demurrage at the port.
Daily Trust investigation revealed that prior to the announcement by government, the cost of transporting a 40 feet container from Tin Can Port to Abuja hovered around N950,000.
Similarly, transporting a 40 feet container to Kano cost around N1,050,000.
The managing director of a clearing firm, who preferred anonymity because of what he described as the sensitivity of the issue said, “the current cost of transporting a 40 feet container from Tin Can Port to Abuja is N1,400,000 while it cost N1,700,000 to Kano respectively.”
Reacting to the endless delay of containers, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Tin Can Island Command, Uche Ejisieme, said the customs service was only involved in the inspection of cargo in the entire chain and had nothing to do with exit of goods.
“Terminal operators are the ones who handle containers when they arrive. It is the terminal operators who decide when to position any container for examination. It is after the container is positioned that customs and officials of other relevant agencies saddled with such responsibility are invited into the terminal for inspection.
“After inspection, the container is released to the owner. Those who man the gate are staff of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), police as well as security operatives attached to the terminal. Customs officers have nothing to do at the gate,” he added.
