River and Sea port: How Nigeria’s export channels work as citizens clamour for decongestion of Lagos
Over the years, there has been a public outcry for the decongestion of the Apapa seaport, Nigeria’s busiest seaport with an annual revenue generation of about ₦1.2 billion. Nigeria heavily relies on its import-export channels to facilitate international trade.
In the first quarter of 2023, the Apapa seaport, which is also Nigeria’s oldest port, accounted for 93.56% of total exports in Nigeria, with a trade value of N6.07 trillion. In comparison, the Onne Port in Rivers State, South-South Nigeria, had a trade value of N150.42 billion, representing 2.32% of total exports, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The dependency on the Apapa Port for both imports and exports has resulted in a significant gridlock, causing delays in the movement of goods to or from the port. There are also reports of illegal checkpoints operating within and outside the port, leading to increased costs of imported goods as importers bribe their way for accelerated exits.
A report by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said Nigeria loses N600 billion in Customs revenue annually, including $10 billion in the non-oil export sector and ₦2.5 trillion in corporate earnings across various sectors due to the poor state of Nigerian ports.
The construction of the Lekki seaport, which will become Nigeria’s largest seaport and one of the biggest in West Africa upon completion, has sparked new debates on the need for other states, particularly in the South-South and South-East regions to have seaports, with their access to the Niger River.
The main difference between river ports and seaports is largely due to the lack of coastal waters. The Southeast, North Central, North West, and North East regions can only have river ports and not seaports. River ports are port facilities specifically designed and equipped to handle river traffic, including boats, barges, and ships that navigate inland waterways. Across the country, there are four licensed river ports in Nigeria: Onitsha, Oguta, Baro, and Lokoja ports.
Seaports, on the other hand, are located along Nigeria’s coastline in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Ogun, Ondo, and Lagos States. These seaports connect the country to international waters and global trade routes. While the Lagos Ports, namely Lagos Port Complex and Tincan Island Port Complex, accounted for 90% of Nigeria’s foreign trade in the frst quarter of 2023, concerns have been raised about the neglect of other ports in Nigeria. The Onne Port Complex in the oil-rich Niger Delta region was responsible for 6.43% of imports and 2.32% of total exports between January and April 2023.
According to Kingsley Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, during a recent interview said that the Forex reforms must be accompanied by trade reforms.
Prof. Bongo Adi of Lagos Business School, speaking on the theme, ‘Promoting Competitiveness in the Maritime Industry: The Mandate of Nigerian Shippers’ Council’ in 2022, enumerated the need for a well-managed port.
“With the globalisation of the world economy, a nation’s economic competitiveness is linked increasingly to its ability to export raw materials, intermediate goods, and products efficiently and economically,” he said.
With the urgent need to increase the country’s exports, in order to mitigate the depreciation of the naira, there is need to fully utilise all the country’s export channels. The naira unification policy, which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced on June 14, 2023, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s promise to review the country’s monetary policy, caused the naira to trade at ₦815 per 1$ on June 21, 2023.
