By Eniola Idris

Some export-bound cargoesworth about N868 billion may rot away at the seaports, if the Federal Government fails to address critical trade obstacles currently facing the exporters.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had mandating the exporters to register their Nigeria Export Proceed (NXP) before exporting any goods, but some of them have failed to meet the deadline for registration thereby making their cargoes stuck at the seaports.

  The exporters however appealed to CBN and other government agencies to libralise the export process in order to encourage the struggling entrepreneurs.

    This is even as the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) threatened to embark on a three-day warning strike from December 9 over the deplorable state of access roads to seaports in Lagos State.

  The Shippers Association Lagos State (SALS) has appealed to the union to shelve their planned strike action due to the volume of export cargo trapped in the ports.

  President, SALS, Jonathan Nichol, told SlyNews that some of the shippers have not been able to register for the NXP, and therefore cannot export their goods.

Meanwhile, their goods are already in the ports and they are so many that even the shipping lines said they could not take any more export cargo. So the export cargoes are now more than the import cargoes that are struggling for space in the terminals.

  “Goods that fall under exports remain on top of the trucks indefinitely, no space to keep them, and they are not sure of exporting the goods due to NXP issue and they cannot take them away from the ports,” he said.

  The SMEs are the people who are mostly into export business and we expect government to encourage such people. There are no jobs in the country and these are the people who have taken the bull by the horn to export agricultural products.

  “This is not what government can achieve within three years, they need to be liberal with their policies in other to encourage the struggling exporters. This is the peak period and the rush is much, so we have appealed to CBN to let the registration be continuous” he said.

  On the strike action, Nichol said the actions of the association is germane especially the call for state of emergency by ANLCA.

  “However, the challenges being experienced by our exporters with goods worth over N868 billion is under threat of decomposition due to regulatory reasons.

  “We will give our support for a total lockdown if our exporters are not treated nicely by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the Shipping Lines and the Terminal Operators to have a serious dialogue with all the associations including the Shippers Association Lagos State, respectively.

  “There is need for our concerted support for export trade and we cannot allow exporters to wallow in massive loss of perishable goods. Strike will definitely increase our woes and indeed increase cost of demurrages on import and export cargo.

  “The Apapa traffic has evolved to be a Lagos State traffic that has shown no respect to anyone. Indeed, workers spend quality man-hours on the roads, to and from work. The traffic is threatening our corporate existence. Trade is dwindling.

  “This is as a result of systemic failure that will affect all the Port Management Agencies for their failure to solve the intractable traffic.

  “We support the amalgamation of truck owners in the new concept of tackling the traffic, after all, they are the owners of the trucks on the roads. These issues demands our collective concerns especially now. Congestion in the Ports is looming,” he said.

  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had earlier in October threatened to sanction exporters who ship out goods without NXP numbers.

  The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, noted that it has been discovered that many shipping companies do not comply with the Federal Government’s directives that such shipments carry NXP number.

  The Form NXP is a mandatory document to be completed by all exporters through authorized dealer bank for shipment of goods outside Nigeria irrespective of the value and whether or not payment is involved. Any customer willing to engage in export business is required to register with the Nigeria Export Promotion Council.

  Meanwhile, The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has also threatened to embark on a three-day warning strike from December 9 over the deplorable state of access roads to seaports in Lagos State.

  The body indicated this in a communique that MWUN could no longer fold hands and watch the situation degenerate further.

  The communique signed by the President-General of the union, Adewale Adeyanju, and the Secretary-General, Felix Akingboye, said that the poor state of the access roads had made articulated vehicles to block them, putting other road users through pains of losing man-hours and facing risks of accidents.

It stated: “To avoid unnecessary deaths as well as loss of man-hour on the failed roads, the NEC in-session hereby calls on the Federal Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to urgently fix the access roads and make them motorable,”

  MWUN said that it’s NEC in-session unanimously approved the central working committee’s recommendation that the union proceeds on a three-day warning strike to bring to the public space its disappointment over the total neglect of the access roads to Lagos ports by successive governments, and the urgent need for government to repair the roads.

  “From Second Rainbow to the ports, in the last three weeks, it takes not less than five to seven hours to access the ports depending on when you get trapped.

  “When you are leaving the ports, you even spend more hours from the ports to the same Second Rainbow.

  “A lot of innocent lives have been lost, many have been maimed by hoodlums who rob and dispose victims of their belongings,” it said.

  The union said that response from the government would determine its next line of action after the warning strike.

By Eniola Idris

Some export-bound cargoesworth about N868 billion may rot away at the seaports, if the Federal Government fails to address critical trade obstacles currently facing the exporters.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had mandating the exporters to register their Nigeria Export Proceed (NXP) before exporting any goods, but some of them have failed to meet the deadline for registration thereby making their cargoes stuck at the seaports.

  The exporters however appealed to CBN and other government agencies to libralise the export process in order to encourage the struggling entrepreneurs.

    This is even as the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) threatened to embark on a three-day warning strike from December 9 over the deplorable state of access roads to seaports in Lagos State.

  The Shippers Association Lagos State (SALS) has appealed to the union to shelve their planned strike action due to the volume of export cargo trapped in the ports.

  President, SALS, Jonathan Nichol, told SlyNews that some of the shippers have not been able to register for the NXP, and therefore cannot export their goods.

Meanwhile, their goods are already in the ports and they are so many that even the shipping lines said they could not take any more export cargo. So the export cargoes are now more than the import cargoes that are struggling for space in the terminals.

  “Goods that fall under exports remain on top of the trucks indefinitely, no space to keep them, and they are not sure of exporting the goods due to NXP issue and they cannot take them away from the ports,” he said.

  The SMEs are the people who are mostly into export business and we expect government to encourage such people. There are no jobs in the country and these are the people who have taken the bull by the horn to export agricultural products.

  “This is not what government can achieve within three years, they need to be liberal with their policies in other to encourage the struggling exporters. This is the peak period and the rush is much, so we have appealed to CBN to let the registration be continuous” he said.

  On the strike action, Nichol said the actions of the association is germane especially the call for state of emergency by ANLCA.

  “However, the challenges being experienced by our exporters with goods worth over N868 billion is under threat of decomposition due to regulatory reasons.

  “We will give our support for a total lockdown if our exporters are not treated nicely by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the Shipping Lines and the Terminal Operators to have a serious dialogue with all the associations including the Shippers Association Lagos State, respectively.

  “There is need for our concerted support for export trade and we cannot allow exporters to wallow in massive loss of perishable goods. Strike will definitely increase our woes and indeed increase cost of demurrages on import and export cargo.

  “The Apapa traffic has evolved to be a Lagos State traffic that has shown no respect to anyone. Indeed, workers spend quality man-hours on the roads, to and from work. The traffic is threatening our corporate existence. Trade is dwindling.

  “This is as a result of systemic failure that will affect all the Port Management Agencies for their failure to solve the intractable traffic.

  “We support the amalgamation of truck owners in the new concept of tackling the traffic, after all, they are the owners of the trucks on the roads. These issues demands our collective concerns especially now. Congestion in the Ports is looming,” he said.

  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had earlier in October threatened to sanction exporters who ship out goods without NXP numbers.

  The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, noted that it has been discovered that many shipping companies do not comply with the Federal Government’s directives that such shipments carry NXP number.

  The Form NXP is a mandatory document to be completed by all exporters through authorized dealer bank for shipment of goods outside Nigeria irrespective of the value and whether or not payment is involved. Any customer willing to engage in export business is required to register with the Nigeria Export Promotion Council.

  Meanwhile, The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has also threatened to embark on a three-day warning strike from December 9 over the deplorable state of access roads to seaports in Lagos State.

  The body indicated this in a communique that MWUN could no longer fold hands and watch the situation degenerate further.

  The communique signed by the President-General of the union, Adewale Adeyanju, and the Secretary-General, Felix Akingboye, said that the poor state of the access roads had made articulated vehicles to block them, putting other road users through pains of losing man-hours and facing risks of accidents.

It stated: “To avoid unnecessary deaths as well as loss of man-hour on the failed roads, the NEC in-session hereby calls on the Federal Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to urgently fix the access roads and make them motorable,”

  MWUN said that it’s NEC in-session unanimously approved the central working committee’s recommendation that the union proceeds on a three-day warning strike to bring to the public space its disappointment over the total neglect of the access roads to Lagos ports by successive governments, and the urgent need for government to repair the roads.

  “From Second Rainbow to the ports, in the last three weeks, it takes not less than five to seven hours to access the ports depending on when you get trapped.

  “When you are leaving the ports, you even spend more hours from the ports to the same Second Rainbow.

  “A lot of innocent lives have been lost, many have been maimed by hoodlums who rob and dispose victims of their belongings,” it said.

  The union said that response from the government would determine its next line of action after the warning strike.