A maritime stake
holder, Mr David Enyia, has observed that virtually all the Nigeria borders are porous because of the high cost of doing business via the nation’s port.
To that end, he has urged the Federal Government to take the bull by the horn by ensuring conducive business environment at the ports, as well as stem the insecurity at the borders.
Enyia, a member of the Nigeria Ports Consultative Council (PCC) who disclosed this to The Tide in Port Harcourt recently said that effective port service delivery should first be considered before pricing.
He said “Port system must first consider optimal service delivery by avoiding delays. It means that modern infrastructure is capable of supporting the cargo, traffic, 24-hours cargo delivery and 24-hours vessel pillage service should be in place”.
He noted also that some importers use ports in neigbouring countries because they want to smuggle in their goods with a determination to beat government’s fiscal policy.
“For example, you will see that there is a high rate of importation of vehicles through the land borders, this is because they want to pay less duty on them,” Enyia added.
According to him, some importers will deliberately decide to use the ports in neigbouring countries in order to evade duties or engage in smuggling of such goods across the border.
He noted that investment in ports are meant to upgrade facilities, improve the training of the workers, the acquisition of modern cargo handling equipment, as well as improve the clearing process at the ports.

Corlins Walter