The Federal Government has said that while it may not be feasible to complete the ongoing rehabilitation work on the Apapa Port access road by the set deadline of June, the work will be completed by the third quarter of this year.
Mr. Jude Oboh from the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council stated this in Lagos on Wednesday at the Primetime Reporters’ second annual lecture and awards.
While presenting a paper at the event entitled: “The gains and challenges of the presidential order on ease of doing business in the Nigerian maritime sector one year after’, he gave the assurance that the government and its representatives were physically present at the ports and aware of all the challenges that the operators were facing.
According to him, infrastructure is a long-term project and takes time to execute.
On the clearing processes around the ports, Oboh stated that the government was currently looking into the export processes, Customs and Excise Management Act, as well as collating inputs from stakeholders on how the National Single Window should work.
He encouraged people to send in their inputs to the council secretariat.
Oboh added that the council had established a website, (www.pebec.report.) for people to register any complaints or reports they might have against government agencies operating at the seaports.
The guest speaker at the event, and Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, warned against making revenue generation a key performance indicator for the Customs, noting that this was add to the cost incurred by port users as the Customs rush to meet revenue targets.
He advised that trade facilitation should rather be included in the Customs’ performance indicator.
The event organizer and the Managing Director, Primetime Reporters, Mr. Saint Nwadinamuo, noted that the theme of the event was germane and topical in the maritime sector, adding that one year down the line, there had been divergent opinions whether or not the executive order had served its purpose in the industry.
Source: Punch
