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MARCH 19, 2007 VOL. 20. NO 23

A Crumbling Gateway

**Apapa Port**

Business activities at the nation’s seaports nose-dive, as a result of uncertainties surrounding the April 2007 general elections
By Innocent Chukwu
The gateway to the nation’s economy, commonly referred to as the ports, is likely to fall short of its expected revenue target to the Federation Account in 2007. Port watchers are quick to attribute the anticipated shortfall in revenue generation to the wind of uncertainty that has since last year, 2006, begun to blow on the political terrain.
Based on The Source’s investigations, imports into the ports since the electioneering campaign started in earnest, especially January 2007, have drastically reduced. Vessel throughput also, which rose considerably from 41million tonnes in 2004 to 45 million tonnes in 2005, reduced drastically. Even though the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), is yet to come up with accurate the tonnage in 2006, snippets from the maritime landlord indicate that there was really a reduction in the quantity of goods that entered the country’s shores in 2006.
But since January 2007, the lull in business activities in the ports, have been laid bare for almost everyone to see. It is, in fact, no longer news that at most of the bonded terminals, there are little or no cargoes coming in. The Source went round some customs commands and discovered that only skeletal jobs are going on at present.
At the Kiri-Kiri Lighter Terminal (KLT) customs command, a senior customs officer told The Source that since the new area controller of the command, J. Odogwu, resumed last month, he has been idle in the office. The cause being that “the AP. Moller has just started releasing goods to some of the terminals here,” the officer disclosed in strict confidence.
He (officer) requested that The Source to go into the terminals and observe how most officers sleep all day long for lack of work to do. “Most of our officers sleep throughout the day. If you can go into the terminals you will see for yourself that we are not doing anything here because the AP. Moller has just started to shift some containers to one of the terminals here,” the officer lamented.
Similar lamentation was also observed at Apapa Port command of the service. Although officers at the command declined to comment officially on the dwindling business at the ports, The Source gathered that there is, indeed, a decline in business activities. Those who volunteered comments, albeit anonymously, said it was because of the political situation in the country that have made importers to stop importing. The Source called Wale Adeniyi, Customs National Public Relations Officer (PRO), on his GSM line to comment on the declining business at the ports, but his line did not go through.
On the part of the informal sector, the business environment in the ports also remain hazy. Those who bared their minds on the skeletal job in the ports, including importers, industrialists and clearing agents, agree that the ports are running dry consequent upon the political uncertainties in the country.
According to them, while some politicians in their fold have joined the political race, contesting for one public office or the other, others, they said, have temporarily called it quits with importing, pending the outcome of the 2007 general elections.
A Lagos-based businessman, Dim Ogbuagu Peter Obi, chairman of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Apapa, told The Source that most importers have begun to push their money into foreign accounts, so as to avoid possible loss of their fortune to any crisis that may trail the elections.
Obi lamented that since late last year, when it became obvious that President Olusegun Obasanjo was willing to leave the Aso Rock Villa throne, the nation’s ports have remained a shadow of their former bubbling selves. According to him, nothing comes into the country anymore because importers are afraid of the political situation which indicate that the elections may breed crises across the land.
Obi pointed out that the trend was affecting the entire economy, causing prices of goods to rise in the market. He also said that the lull in the ports is further worsened by the quest of some importers to contest for political offices.
The Seamap boss lamented that even foreigners who are Nigeria-based importers are also afraid of uncertainties which he said surrounds the April 2007 polls. The Apapa ANCA boss disclosed that many foreigners were now exporting wood to their respective countries. This move, he added, is aimed at transferring their funds back to their respective countries because of the current wave of uncertainties engendered by the forthcoming general elections.
Obi: “Some importers have gone into politics, while others are afraid of uncertainties surrounding the forth-coming election.”
Lucky Amiwero, an expert in maritime business, corroborated Obi’s submissions and confessed to The Source that “we are all suffering it because nothing is happeining in the ports.”