Nigeria not delisted from transit cargo list —Bello

Contrary to media report, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council has said that there was never a time Nigeria was delisted from the list of transit cargo nations. Executive Secretary of the Council, Mr. Hassan Bello disclosed this when he visited the Corporate Headquarters of Vanguard Newspapers adding that landlocked countries only stopped transiting their cargoes through Nigerian ports. He said nobody can delist Nigeria from the list of transit cargo nations adding that it was the importers that decided to go to other countries because they got more efficient services. Bello also said that the Nigeria through the Council has concluded plans to re-direct transit cargo trade back to Nigeria. He reiterated the fact that Nigeria still remains the nearest to most of the landlocked countries, patronizing Nigerian ports will add value to their businesses. According to Bello the issuance of transit permit was another factor that worked against the issue of transit cargo in Nigeria as it was only issued in Abuja. Now, the issuance of transit permit has been decentralized as it can now be issued in Lagos and other Customs Commands and formation. The Council boss disclosed that any moment from now economic operators from Niger will start bringing their transit goods through Nigerian ports. He explained that the uncoordinated manner through which goods are cleared was the reason most importers from landlocked countries had to look elsewhere for efficiency. He further disclosed that the Council has taken advantage of the efficiency brought into the Nigerian port system by concessionaires. Bello said that the Council had also taken some stakeholders to Niger to meet with the maritime stakeholders of that country with a view to seeing how both countries can work together for a mutually benefiting economic relationship.