Lack of functional ports
weighing equipment has been described as one of the challenges facing effective ports operation in Nigeria.
The chairman of Rivers /Bayelsa Shippers Association (RIBASA), Mr. Ufon Udofia dropped this hint in a chat with newsmen after the monthly meeting held in Port Harcourt recently.
Udofia said Nigerian Ports were yet to be equipped properly with functioning weighbridges, hence posing a great challenge in the sector, adding that efforts should be intensified to meet up the Internationally accepted standards for weighing of containers.
He noted that Nigeria as a dominant maritime player in Africa could not be left out in this scheme, pointing out that for Nigeria to align with the directive the Federal  Government will assist  the procurement of weighing equipment for containers handled at all the ports in the country.
The Chairman appealed to the government to create an enabling environment on what he called “dedicated facilities for export” and noted that when such facilities were put in place and equipped with functional and standard weighing equipment it would boost the sector.
Udofia said the federal Government should take over the cost of weighing the containers for export, and that “ shippers should not bear the weighing cost because it will add to commodity cost that will make export unattractive.”
He insisted that the government should urgently consider this call to make the sector more attractive for exporters.