The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has announced swift action to clear 616 export containers that have been stuck in Lagos ports for an extended period.
During a visit to the APM Terminal Complex in Apapa, Lagos, on Friday, NSC Executive Secretary Pius Akutah expressed concern about the rising number of abandoned export containers resulting from non-compliance with regulatory guidelines.
To address this issue, Akutah revealed plans to engage with stakeholders and emphasized the need to simplify documentation processes for exporters, promoting ease and efficiency in the export process.
He stated, “The council needs to quickly bring the service providers, regulators, government agencies and exporters together on one table to discuss and discover where the problem lies. We would also take up issues of awareness creation to sensitise exporters on how to comply with the export procedure. NSC will work towards promoting ease of documentation by exporters. The council needs to do that quickly because the present situation is not helping the economy, especially as the government is trying to promote exports to earn scarce dollars.’’
Mr. Akutah stressed the need to prevent export containers with incomplete documentation from entering the port to avoid congestion. APM Terminals’ Government Relations Manager, Kayode Daniel, reported that 616 containers have been stuck in Apapa Port for over 31 days, classifying them as abandoned.
Despite efforts to evacuate these containers, operational bottlenecks persist due to incomplete export procedures, resulting in multiple handling of containers.
Exporters have complained about ineffective procedures, and shipping lines have committed to moving 2,752 containers out of the port within five days.
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