By Innocent Orok
The Nigerian Shippers’ Council ( NSC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nigerian Railway Corporation ( NRC) to ease the evacuation of cargoes by rail from the Nigerian Ports.
Both agencies signed the pact on Thursday in Lagos during a one-day stakeholders summit with the theme “Limitations to Rail Transportation of Cargo in Nigeria” organized by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in collaboration with the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
In his welcome address at the event, the Executive Secretary of NSC, Barr. Pius Akutah MON, said the government is concerned about improving transport infrastructure in order to decongest the seaports.
Akutah said that the Federal government has embarked on strategic moves towards enhancing transportation of goods through the railways.
He said , while government is promoting trade facilitation activities , it was also interested in improving on transport infrastructures in the hinterland to be able to decongest the ports.
Akutah said the target is for goods coming into the country to be freely transported to the hinterland by using the Inland Dry Ports (IDPs) as developed by the Council.
“The NSC and the NRC are working together to develop structures and policies along (working) lines while returning back to the use of rail systems to move cargoes into the hinterland. Both agencies believe that the best way to go in terms of cargo movement across the nation is to encourage the use of rail transport”.
Akutah disclosed that rail transport remains the best in terms of safety of cargoes, cost and efficiency.
“The MOU is designed to tackle the challenges of cost of transportation in doing business for Nigerian Shippers. It is also to ensure the return of rail transportation in its effectiveness back to the country”, he said.
Speaking earlier, Ify Okolue, Director, Inland Transport and Services of the NSC, noted that the objective of the summit is to identify the challenges facing the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) infrastructural development.
She added that the NSC and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy stand resolutely committed to creating an enabling environment for the actualisation of optimal and seamless movement of cargoes by rail from the seaports to the inland dry ports and the hinterland in general.
“The objective of the summit amongst others is to identify the challenges facing the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) infrastructural development; the role of the Nigeria Customs Service towards enabling seamless movement of cargo/reduction of cost of doing business in the port, proffer practicable solutions to the identified problems and open up discussions on the possibility for Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the provision of rail transport services with a view to promoting multimodal approached to cargo evacuation and distribution to the hinterland.
“With the caliber of distinguished stakeholders here present, I am very optimistic that this event will come out with far reaching resolutions that will impact positively on the development and promotion of seamless movement of cargoes from the Seaports to the Inland Dry Ports (IDPs) in Nigeria.
“I therefore call on all the participants to take advantage of this opportunity and contribute meaningfully to achieve the objective of the event.” She noted.
While explaining the role of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in evacuation of cargoes from seaports, the Area Controller, Tin Can Island Port Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi mni, observed that the Service inspects and documents cargoes before they exit the seaports.
Nnadi encouraged shippers and their freight agents to gainfully utilize the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) to have an estimate of the cost of Customs duty and expedite cargo clearance.
He equally emphasized the need for the nation to pay more attention to exports and described the MoU between Shippers’ Council and NRC as a commendable step and a win for the nation.
Also speaking, the Chairman, Apapa Local Government Area , Hon. Idowu Sebanjo, lamented that local government and its residents aren’t benefitting from hosting the nation’s biggest seaports in Apapa and Tin Can Island.
“There are no proper roads to service the train stations at Apapa. The Flour Mills access road isn’t sufficient and we hope that something will be done about this amid plans to refurbish the railway. Apapa isn’t benefitting from having the nation’s biggest seaports,” Sebanjo said.
The NRC and the NCS both delivered key lectures on effective cargoes evacuation with rail transportation system from the ports.
