Businesses are still experiencing delays and extortion when moving imported goods from Nigeria’s seaports despite government interventions, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said.
The President of the chamber, Mrs Toki Mabogunje during the chamber’s quarterly address on the state of the economy complained of bottlenecks involved in the clearing of cargoes at the ports.
She pointed out that the activities of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) constituted significant deadweight to the cargo clearing process.
Mabogunje, therefore, called for an urgent reformation of Customs service through executive orders or legislative actions.
She urged the government to properly manage the roads leading to the ports and the withdraw government officials from the roads to curb the persistent traffic situation.
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The LCCI president said the impact of insecurity on the Nigerian economy has crippled a lot of private and public investments across the country.
She said, “Insecurity in the northern and middle belt of the country and its impact on agriculture activities, high cost of logistics on the back of domestic energy prices, and cost of agricultural inputs, lingering liquidity concern in the foreign exchange market and the pass-through effect of exchange rate on imported raw materials and finished items have allowed for inflation to remain elevated has created serious implications for various economic agents including households, businesses, and investors.
“Many households have lost their means of livelihoods, many farmlands across the country have been destroyed with consequent impact on food production and security,” she said.
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