Executive order: Why 24-hour ports operations in 30 days can’t work

Executive order: Why 24-hour ports operations in 30 days can’t work

The recent order by the Federal Government, ‘decreeing’ a 24-hour operations at the Apapa Port complex within 30 days, has been picked apart by Maritime stakeholders who adjudged the move as a tall order that puts the cart before the horse.

According to them, as fantastic as the initiative looks, the order is not feasible within the timeframe stipulated by government.

In their view, the Federal Government should first play its part well before seeking the private sector to buy in on the project.

They argued that in the concession agreement, there are aspects of government’s provision of common user-facility, which include the ports access road- now in a sorry state- provision of uninterrupted electricity along the road and within the port environment including viable rail network to facilitate cargo movement in and out of the ports, among others. But the government has failed in all the tasks.  Besides, they opined that, unless the banks operate in the night for a seamless banking transaction, all the talk about the 24-hour operation will remain a barber’s chair operation: all motion, no movement.

Recall that the the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo,  recently signed an executive order directing  that Apapa Port should resume 24-hour operations within 30 days.

In addition, all government agencies in the ports should harmonise their operations into one single interface station domiciled in one location in the port implemented by a joint task force at all times.

“All agencies currently physically present in the Nigerian ports shall within 60 days harmonise their operations into one single interface station domiciled in one location in the port and implemented by a single joint task force at all times, without prejudice to necessary backend procedures.

“The new single interface station at each port shall capture, track and record information on all goods arriving and departing from Nigeria and remit captured information to the head of the Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDA) and the head of the National Bureau of Statistics on a weekly basis.

“Each port in Nigeria shall assign an existing export terminal to be dedicated to the exportation of agriculture produce within 30 days of the issuance of this order”, Osinbajo said.

According to the directive, on-duty staff shall be properly identified by uniform and official cards while off-duty staff shall stay away from the ports except with the express approval of the agency head.

“The FAAN Aviation Security (AVSEC) and Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) Security shall enforce this order,” he directed.

Also,  any official caught soliciting or receiving bribes from passengers or other port users shall be subject to immediate removal from post and disciplinary as well as criminal proceedings in line with extant laws and regulations taken against him, the directive said.

But giving his verdict on the issue, a maritime analyst, Mr Ismail Aniemu, argued that the order was borne out of good intentions but might not likely achieve good result given the short timeline.

“I think that order was borne out of very good intention for the economy to work.  I want to believe that he (0sinbajo) has not been properly briefed for him to say that within 30 days the port should operate 24 hours.

Let me pick the issues one after the other. First, the port industry has been badly hit by recession. We have an exchange rate that hovers around N400 and N500 to a dollar which caused importation to drop and it made port operators to lay off over 1,500 workers in Apapa alone. Shipping companies, terminal operators have laid off over 1,500 workers in Apapa alone. I am not talking about the whole country.

And this common-user facility include the ports access road which has been in very deplorable state. Do you know that vehicles trying to access Apapa Port spend up to five days? They would queue up from Trinity or West Minster and they would spend up to five days before getting to the ports. Some of them would queue up from Trinity and as at the third day, they would be at Tin Can coming slowly to Apapa Port. And that is the port you want to operate 24 hours when you don’t have access road. So, this common-user facility is lacking. The port access road is supposed to be covered under port development levy, which NPA collects.  Another very critical common-user facility that is supposed to be provided by government is 24-hour electricity. And when they increase diesel consumption, I hope the profit will be commensurate?. So, we have not achieved power supply. We have not achieved effective road network within the ports and the approaches to the ports. Then there is the single window project that has been on for years. There is this mild controversy between Customs and NPA  under whose care should it be domiciled. Up till now,  the single window platform still has many government agencies and some private sectors who are yet to key into it.

That single window is intended, among other things,  to make trade within the port community seamless where everybody will be seeing almost what every other person is doing and it will be intuitive and interactive. The single window project is yet to fully take off. I am not saying 24-hour operation is not feasible but what I am saying is that the 30 days within which the VP said it should commence is not feasible. Now, we are already two weeks into it, have these things been put in place? If they have not been put in place, that order may not bring a desired result”, he said.

Aniemu, however, commended the Acting President for the bold step intended to make the ports effective.

“But I commend the VP because it is a step that is intended to increase efficiency, enhance productivity and promote job creation because if the ports were to go back to 24 hours, you will now see that more hands will be employed, vessel turn around time will be enhanced. There will be low incidence of congestion. There may be very low level of delay associated with clearance of goods. So, nobody will tell you that by 6 o’clock, I am closing. So, if you cannot clear your goods by about 5:30 pm, you will come tomorrow. People are yet to embrace electronic payment method. Under a 24-hour port operation system, people making payment should be able to make their payment even at night to the banks. Some can make their duty payment by 10 pm. Are the banks  ready to collect the duty payment at any time of the day and generate alert for the purpose of customs information? Have they all keyed into the single window system? So, 30 days for me is short to achieve it” Aniemu said.

Similarly, an exporter, Mr Eddy Akwaeze said that as long as the road remains at a decrepit condition, the 24 hour operation will not be realistic.

“There is nothing you can get out of 24 hours operation” he said.

Dragging everybody to the poor road condition has made everybody to pay through his nose.

The rail line, he said, should be considered as a matter of urgency.

He also suggested that dry port should be reconsidered.

“Relocation of tank farms to Badagry  is necessary now. As soon as the government does that Apapa Port will be free,” he said.

Also, commenting the President of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Chief Remi Ogungbemi, said that the 24-hour operation is a misplacement of priority because the road network to Apapa  Port should be fixed first for motorists and workers to move freely before the 24-hour order must be effective.

“ I want the Acting President to come to Apapa and experience what we are going through. Let him not come in a  car. Let him come in a  helicopter because he cannot access Apapa Port (The port  we refer to  as the gateway of the economy) with his car. So, the talk about 24 hours operation will not work. I think it is a misplacement of priority. If there is a security alert, how will the security operatives move?. All those that work in Apapa come to work on motorbike. We don’t use vehicles again. So, it is not the best” he lamented.

The National President, Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA), Matthew Alalade, spoke glowingly on the order but was emphatic on the provision of security for it to work.

“It is a welcome development, but one thing the government must adhere to strictly is the provision of security. There must be security in and outside the ports. Most of the ports the world over work 24 hours. So, it is a good development”, he said.

Recall that on May 15, 2017, Freight Forwarders and truck owners  embarked on an indefinite strike to protest the deplorable condition of Apapa and Tin Can ports roads which has claimed several lives and damaged several vehicles and cargoes.

That  strike was not the only protest  by the road-users. The residents and  corporate bodies   in  Apapa led by the Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) have also  demonstrated  their grievances on the condition of the roads.

BSN General Secretary, Dare Ajiboye,  who spoke on behalf of the residents,  also expressed fear over what would become of them during this year’s rainy season as the roads leading to the Apapa Wharf are likely to worsen.

According to him, because of the  condition of the roads, trucks laden with containers fall on the residents and many of the residents  fall ill because of long stay on endless traffic.

Also, motorists are attacked by hoodlums on the long traffic and the government loses money because some containers cannot come to Apapa. When containers cannot come in, he said,  the government equally loses  taxes.

He said that  the two major  roads to Apapa,  namely Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and Ijora-Apapa Road  are in decrepit situation, replete with deep gullies at various sections of the road from West Minster up to First Gate Bus Stop.

“The road  from Coconut Bus Stop is blocked daily by trucks and fuel tankers make  it impossible for Apapa-bound vehicles to move. The gridlock is compounded by gullies on both the Oshodi and Apapa-bound carriageways between the Tin Can First Gate and Second Gate Bus stops. Most people have for a long time abandoned this road because of its terrible state and this has increased the pressure on the Ijora/Apapa Road which is the second road to Apapa”, he disclosed.

It is also note-worthy to reiterate  here that over 5, 000 workers have lost their jobs in Apapa in the last one year. This followed the closure of over 50 companies including banks and entertainment outlets who depend on the activities from the wharf.

On Wharf Road alone, Daily Sun counted over 10 banks  and two eateries that have closed shop because of the lull in business.

Unity Bank which used to have four  branches, now has two branches and Ecobank with eight  branches had to reduce to four. Similarly, Access Bank with seven  branches also cut down to four

Eateries like Tetrazini has been  shut down, while a  popular Kingstone Joe that had two  outlets at Warehouse Road and Wharf Road  are closed down.

Tantalizer with three outlets has reduced to one while the only Mr Biggs eatery in Apapa on Creek Road closed down.

Major hotels like Rockview, Excelsior and many others are groaning for lack of patronage as most of their rooms are always empty. Chains of events that require renting their halls no longer come.  A room rate which used to be between N25,000 and N30,000 can now be negotiated for between N8,000 and  N10,000.

Other businesses that collapsed on Burma Road include, grocery shops, shipping companies, haulage outfits, freight forwarding firms, clubs and other recreational outlets.  It was gathered that each of the outfits has between 20 and 50 staff while one of the biggest brothels which harbours over 200 inmates in the area has equally closed shop and the inmates relocated to other parts of  Lagos where they can get customers.

Faced with all these challenges, stakeholders, therefore, concluded that Osinbajo’s directive is a tall order. Two weeks after the order was given, the situation still remains unchanged and the government agencies in the ports cannot operate without the private sector.