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By Matthew Eloyi
The Women Agro Processors Agricgen and Exporters Initiative (WAPA-GEIN) has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to modernise and transform the nation’s ports management system.
The President of WAPA-GEIN, Mrs Esther Adebayo, made the call at the inauguration of the Initiative and National Export Centre, on Thursday, in Abuja.
In her words, I am of the opinion that the Federal Government should not be decongesting the ports in Nigeria, but engage in transforming them.
“This must start with the cleaning up of administrative bottlenecks; most of which are unnecessary with multiple government agencies at the port, high transaction cost, or even plain extortion from illegal taxes, which do not go into the coffers of the government.
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“Nigeria should rapidly modernise and transform its ports. Ports are not there for equipment revenue generation. They should be for facilitating business and exports, and stimulating industrial manufacturing, and competitiveness of local business and exports.
“Papers and other documents are to be forwarded on Internet to other country of destination, and according to the sector operators.
“The cost of exporting 100 tonnes of cargoes in Nigeria is 35,000 dollars compared to 4000 dollars in Ghana.
“Today, the leading ports for West Africa are in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic. All these countries have modernised their Port Management Systems, leaving Nigeria far behind.”
She also stressed the need for the Federal Government to increase the training and employment of extension workers and other supportive services to boost increase in agricultural production.
