Princess Chinelo Ezeh has described Apapa gridlock, lack of holding bays, lack of port access roads as very big obstacles to business activities in the freight forwarding industry.
Ezeh is member-elect of the Governing Council of Council of Regulating Freight forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN),
Apapa and its environs recently witnessed heavy gridlock as articulated vehicles took over major roads leading to the ports.
This situation attracted the attention of the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo, who visited the area to see things by himself and gave a 72-hour ultimatum that vehicles be evacuated from the roads and bridges.
Ezeh, who spoke to our correspondent in Lagos, also stressed that business activities at the ports were being hindered by high cost of transport conveying cargoes from the ports to their destinations and demurrages charged by terminal operators.
She said: “It is the end users of this goods that bear the brunt as the importer, having paid additional money to get the cargoes cleared and transported to the warehouse, will definitely increase the prices of the goods to cover his expenses.”
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Ezeh said the situation had not only been affecting the importers, but also the Nigeria economy in general.
This is because, according to her, government would witness a drop in revenue generation.
She called on governments to look into the situation critically with a view to finding a lasting solution.
Ezeh, the only female council-elect member of CRFFN, urged shipping companies to provide them with holding bays for containers to help reduce traffic, while Eastern ports should be made viable through deliberate diversion of vessels coming into Lagos which destination read ports in the South East, to help decongest Lagos Ports.
She also urged the government to provide access roads leading to the Tin Can, Apapa ports and compel shipping companies to provide holding bays for containers.
