Chad Republic Seeks Rent-Free Days At Nigerian Ports

The Republic of Chad has appealed to the Seaport Terminal Operators of Nigeria (STOAN) to grant her importers using the Nigeria ports 30 days rent free period.

STOAN spokesman, Mr Bolaji Akinola, told newsmen  in Lagos yesterday that the appeal was contained in a letter to STOAN Chairperson, Mrs Vicky Haastrup.

Akinola said the letter from the Chadian Embassy, signed by the country’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Mahamat Doutoum, pleaded for rent free period for goods destined for Chad.

He quoted the Ambassador as saying the appeal became necessary because of frequent changes in customs operational systems and administrative bottlenecks, including documentations, which delay transit permits and processing of transit documents.

Doutoum explained that this had resulted in accumulation of huge rent for the Chadian importers.

The STOAN spokesman, however, told newsmen  that the request would be looked into purely on its merits.

“I cannot specifically say what the decision of the operators will be because the request has just come in and it will be premature to jump to any conclusion.

“All terminal operators will meet and consider the objectivity of the request,” Akinola said.

He said that many times, the terminal operators were called upon to make sacrifices and give concessions even in circumstances that did not arise from their operations.

Our correspondent  reports that at the onset of port concession in 2006, the Federal Government compelled all terminal operators to slash cargo handling charges by 30 per cent.

“Last year, the terminal operators also gave a 70 per cent concession on the storage charges accumulated on the National Independent Power Project (NIPP).

“It was part of the organisation’s efforts to assist the Federal Government to tackle the power supply problem in the country,’’ Akinola said.

He said that despite the difficult operating environment, terminal operators had continued to faithfully implement the concession agreement signed with the Federal Government in 2006.

Akinola, however, explained that the cost of doing business in Nigerian ports had remained high because of the cumbersome clearing procedures at the ports.

According to him, the clearing procedures need to be simplified and automated while the number of government agencies at the ports should be drastically reduced.

“Our importers also need to become more honest and patriotic in their importation while customs service needs to cut down on the rate of physical examination which, at the moment, stands at about 80 per cent,’’ he said.