NPA Shuts Down Lagos Port Because Of Buhari’s Visit, Losing N65 Million.
As a result of the Nigerian Ports Authority’s (NPA) complete closure of the facility and restriction of access to port users due to President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit, containers were stuck at the Lagos port yesterday, causing an estimated loss of N65 million.
Since last weekend, the NPA has strictly controlled entry to the PTML area of the Tin Can Island Port as a result of the President’s two-day working visit to the MRS Petroleum Tank Farm.
Today (Tuesday), the President is anticipated at the MRS Tank Farm at the PTML Terminal to commission a lubricant facility. There was chaos at the Tin Can Island port when NPA port security personnel and members of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) were spotted using security dogs to scatter port patrons.
Numerous freight forwarders who had previously gotten entry to the port stated that authorities had used dogs to scare them away.
As one of the busiest ports in Africa, they bemoaned the enormous losses the protocol surrounding the President’s visit had caused them and the country.
The National Public Relations Officer of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), Taiwo Fatomilola, noted that significant losses are being incurred on the detained goods at the port in an interview with The Guardian.
“They have shut down the port’s financial operations for the previous two days. The loaded cars and trucks that have been waiting to depart the port since Saturday are unable to do so.
“Since the weekend, the port has been closed. Demurrage costs us roughly N30 million in Tin Can alone, and N35 million in PTML. That amounts to around N65 million per day lost, which might have been utilized to generate income. Consider how much would have been lost during the days the ports would be closed.
No one is now using Grimaldi or Tin Can Island Port; nobody can enter these ports since everyone is being stopped at the barrier. They came around with police and dogs to shoo people away after we produced our identity cards, but the President won’t be visiting here until Tuesday (today), he complained.
Onome Monije, the Public Relations Officer of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) at Tin Can Island, also reacted to the shutdown by complaining that NPA and its employees were impeding business convenience and pointing out that there is no connection between MRS and port activity. No vehicle, according to her, is allowed to enter or exit the port corridor between Tincan and PTML terminal.
