Extortion, tough processes persist at Lagos Ports – LCCI

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said despite the interventions by the federal government and Lagos state, moving goods from the ports is still tough while extortions by government agencies persist.

President of LCCI, the leading voice of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), Mrs Toki Mabogunje disclosed this on Tuesday in her quarterly address on the state of the economy.

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She lamented the bottlenecks involved in the clearing of cargoes especially the activities of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) constitute significant deadweight to the process.

The Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) in collaboration with Lagos State Government had introduced the electronic call-up system as part of measures to rid the Apapa, Tin Can Island and its environs of gridlocks as well as to move human intervention from the process but the bottlenecks in the clearing of cargoes have persisted.

Mabogunje, therefore, advocated for an urgent reformation of Customs through executive orders or legislative actions.

She also called for proper management of the roads leading to the ports and the withdrawal of government officials from the roads to curb the persistent traffic situation.

Commenting on insecurity, she said the impact of this crisis on the Nigerian economy is that it has crippled lots of private and public investments across the nations.

“Many households have lost their means of livelihoods, many farmlands across the country have been destroyed with consequent impact on food production and security,” she said.