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LCCI decries parlous infrastructure, roads to Lagos ports

By Femi Adekoya
09 October 2015   |   5:23 am
THE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has raised concerns on the negative implications of the deplorable state of roads leading to the Lagos ports , Apapa and Tincan Island ports on the economy if the issue is not properly addressed. According to the Chamber, poor state of the roads has had multifarious effects…
LCCI

LCCI

THE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has raised concerns on the negative implications of the deplorable state of roads leading to the Lagos ports , Apapa and Tincan Island ports on the economy if the issue is not properly addressed.

According to the Chamber, poor state of the roads has had multifarious effects on the private sector, economy and the citizens, as the ports account for over 60 per cent of the cargo into the country and an estimated 70 per cent of customs’ revenue.

In a communiqué issued at the end of its council meeting in Lagos, on Wednesday, LCCI President, Remi Bello stated that the parlous infrastructure and roads to the ports have resulted in risk to the lives of citizens arising from containers falling off the trucks as a result of bad roads, thereby leading to the loss of several lives.

“The bad roads have led to congestion at the ports resulting from the delay in the evacuation of cargo from the Ports, high demurrage paid by importers to terminal operators and shipping companies as a result of delay in the clearance and evacuation of cargo in the Ports, high cost of transportation for evacuating cargo because of the prolonged engagement of the trucks by importers arising from the delays, serious traffic congestion along the roads leading to the ports, which often spills over into the Lagos Metropolis causing severe traffic jam and loss of man hours in Lagos and delays in getting raw materials and other inputs from the ports to the factory premises in Lagos and other parts of the country.

“The LCCI Council therefore urges the Federal Government to fix these roads as a matter of utmost urgency as these are Federal roads. We request that the Trailer Park under construction in the neighbourhood of the Tin can Island Port should be urgently completed to reduce the menace of trucks and tankers on Lagos roads. The LCCI gathered that this trailer park is 80% completed already”, the communiqué read.

With the presentation of the ministerial list to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari, the LCCI Council underlined the need to ramp up the momentum of governance at the federal level to facilitate the delivery of value to the people.

The chamber also commended the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) based on the benefits its offers the economy.

The LCCI however stressed the need to put in place a framework that would ensure that the operations of the income generating Ministries Agencies and Departments of government [MDAs] are not crippled.

“Evidence of the challenges are beginning to manifest in some of the government agencies as the day to day operations of some of them are already being affected. Financial obligations to suppliers and contractors are not being met, for instance. It is therefore necessary for the Federal Government to ensure that funds for operations of agencies whose activities impact directly on the economy and citizens welfare are made available promptly, without compromising the ideals of the TSA”, the chamber added.

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