The Federal Government has revealed that Nigerian ports are the most expensive in the West African sub-region, Concise News reports.
Concise News understands that the Minister of State of Transportation Gbemisola Saraki said this on Monday in Abuja where she admitted that the high cost of port operations in the country is due to the duplicity of functions by port operators.
Saraki spoke when the Association of Nigerian Licensed CustomsAgents (ANLCA) visited her, as she admitted that “the high-cost of operation has made it difficult for Nigeria to compete with other neighbouring countries.
“Nigeria is supposed to be the biggest player and the cheapest player but, unfortunately, we are not. But I assure you that changes will be witnessed as we will soon be efficient and effective in our operations in the country.”
On the country turning into a dumping ground for empty containers which is a major contributor to the Apapa gridlock, the Nigerian leader admitted the situation is bad.
According to her, the Nigerian government, is, however, mapping out plans to change the narrative as she lauded the body for their dedication to bringing development to port operations.
On his part, the National President of the association Iju Nwabunike said the visit was to help the minister to better understand happenings in their work, adding that “If the minister is better informed, it will guide her decision making while discharging her duties.”
Source: concise.ng