Business
‘Inland Container Depots Begin Operation Soon’

L-R: President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Alhaji Remi Bello, Professor of International Law, University of Lagos, Prof. Akin Oyebode, Lagos SSG, Mr Tunji Bello and former Minister of Industry, Chief Nike Akande, at a dialogue on Nigeria Foreign Policy and International Trade Relations in Lagos, yesterday.
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Mr. Hassan Bello said on Wednesday in Lagos that the nation’s Inland Container Depots (ICDs) would begin operation soon.
Bello told reporters that the operation of the ICDs would go a long way in decongesting the access roads to the ports in Lagos as well as enhance cargo delivery.
He said that if 70 per cent of the cargo were taken off-dock for examination, they would be delivered at the door steps of their owners in time.
“If 70 per cent of the cargo in the ports is taken off-dock for examination, then there would not be congestion either at the ports – that is – at the terminals or the roads leading to them.
“This is because you would have taken the trucks off the road; you would have minimised human contact and the ocean economy that we have had in the seaports would be replicated in the hinterland where these ports are located.
“It is important to note that this would also reduce the transport cost; all the trucks from Kano, Funtua, Aba, Ibadan coming to Lagos to convey cargo would not come because they have already got their ports.
“This is bringing shipping to the door steps of internal shippers and reducing congestion and boosting the economy of those places where these ports are sited.“
The executive secretary said that Nigeria had an advantage in transit trade which had to do with the movement of cargo to neighbouring countries such as Republic of Niger and Chad.
According to him, the distance will further be shortened if people from Republic of Niger are to take their cargo from Funtua or Kano, instead of the Apapa port.
Bello said that the council was working closely with some state governments to ensure that the ICDs projects were completed.
“As a council, we have worked with various state governments where these inland ports are located.
“For example for the Kaduna Inland Ports, we have worked with Kaduna State Government on the improvement of the ports.
“Physical infrastructure and the general support and the Kaduna State Government has assisted tremendously in making the Kaduna dry port a reality.
“There are still some works to be done and we have started working with the new government to see that the purpose of which the inland port is situated is realised.
“Our work is to have oversight function over the ports – regulatory oversight in the sense that we are interested in the tariff. We are interested in the efficiency of these ports.
“These ports must be efficient. They must invest. That is, they have to have adequate equipment and business entrepreneurship for them to clear their cargo.
“It’s not just they are inland. We have to be weary of access to these ports and we are talking with state governments to have more access to these ports.
“We are also talking about the ease of doing business at these terminals and also the cost.“
He said that the council had already informed concessionaires of ICDs to be ready to put in place the needed logistics for the start of the projects.
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Senate Orders NAFDAC To Ban Sachet Alcohol Production by December 2025 ………Lawmakers Warn of Health Crisis, Youth Addiction And Social Disorder From Cheap Liquor
The upper chamber’s resolution followed an exhaustive debate on a motion sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South), during its sitting, last Thursday.
He warned that another extension would amount to a betrayal of public trust and a violation of Nigeria’s commitment to global health standards.
Ekpenyong said, “The harmful practice of putting alcohol in sachets makes it as easy to consume as sweets, even for children.
“It promotes addiction, impairs cognitive and psychomotor development and contributes to domestic violence, road accidents and other social vices.”
Senator Anthony Ani (Ebonyi South) said sachet-packaged alcohol had become a menace in communities and schools.
“These drinks are cheap, potent and easily accessible to minors. Every day we delay this ban, we endanger our children and destroy more futures,” he said.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the session, ruled in favour of the motion after what he described as a “sober and urgent debate”.
Akpabio said “Any motion that concerns saving lives is urgent. If we don’t stop this extension, more Nigerians, especially the youth, will continue to be harmed. The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has spoken: by December 2025, sachet alcohol must become history.”
According to him, “This is not just about alcohol regulation. It is about safeguarding the mental and physical health of our people, protecting our children, and preserving the future of this nation.
“We cannot allow sachet alcohol to keep destroying lives under the guise of business.”
According to him, “This is not just about alcohol regulation. It is about safeguarding the mental and physical health of our people, protecting our children, and preserving the future of this nation.
“We cannot allow sachet alcohol to keep destroying lives under the guise of business.”
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