The movement of 10,000 containers by rail in the first half of 2024 from Lagos sea ports to various destinations is an early sign of an emerging revolutionary trend that will ease transportation of goods.
“It is also a major breakthrough in the nation’s ports reforms,’’ The Democratic Front (TDF) affirms in a statement signed by Mallam Danjuma Mohammed and Chief Wale Adedayo, Chairman and Secretary of the pro-democracy movement.
There has been a quantum leap in the numbers of containers transported from Lagos ports, numbering over 10,000 in the first six months of this year, thereby eclipsing the total of 9000 recorded in the year 2023.
“This is a positive development”, adding that the development will boost the economy as well ease transportation, TDF said.
Thrilled by ongoing reforms at the Ports, TDF says that it is a significant milestone which could not have been achieved without massive investments in railways and injection of funds to improve seaport infrastructures by the administration in the last one year.
“The ongoing construction and rehabilitation of the railways, and the provision of ultra modern port facilities by the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has boosted the volume of import and export trades in the country, resulting into higher revenue accruals to the nation’s transport sector.
“TDF is glad to acknowledge that the capacity displayed in the last six months, by Nigerian port administrators to move containers through the railways, will ease our roads of the overbearing pressure of heavy-duty consignments, and significantly reduce the ever-increasing government expenditure on frequent maintenance of dilapidated roads in the country,” the group added.
TDF also noted that the ongoing reforms are yielding results, especially in the area of ease of doing business
The statement reads: “We hereby applaud the Tinubu administration for reforming and automating the vessel documentation process at the ports, which eventually led to the unprecedented clearance and movement of 10,000 containers in the first six months of 2024, impressively surpassing the previous record of 9,000 containers in the year 2023.
“We have no doubt that the automation of the vessel documentation process in the ports by government will drastically reduce the incidence of frequent demurrage charges occasioned by avoidable port congestions. This, more often, translates into additional costs for consumers of imported items in Nigeria.
“Similarly, the President’s commitment to the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the country has recorded a major success in reducing the time for document processing in the port complex by 80%.
“It is also our pleasure to recognize the efforts of the President in the quantum leap in Nigeria’s trade exportation by 15% above that of 2023, as recorded in the first half of this year.
“The tremendous increase in trade export through the nation’s port indicates a boost in domestic production in the economy, with potentials for a strong local currency.
“This to us at TDF is a further confirmation of the remarkable success of President Tinubu’s economic reforms in the promotion of non-oil export in Nigeria.
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“The President’s directives to the Nigerian Customs Service. to refrain from interfering with export cargos once they are cleared in addition to other reforms which include the rehabilitation of port infrastructures by government, the upgrade of digital technologies in the port administration, and the continuous movement of cargos by rails to and from the port complex, have cumulatively resulted in the positive rise in export trades in the economy. This trend must be improved upon sustained.
“We therefore urge all stakeholders in the relevant sectors of the economy to support President Bola Tinubu in his selfless drive towards achieving a sustainable economic system for Nigeria.”
