The Lagos Corridor Organisation has said that for the past few years Nigerian ports were the most inefficient, with the highest number of days of cargo dwell time, in the West African sub region.
Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos showed Nigeria also has the highest number of road blocks and checkpoints within the sub region, with a total of 13 illegal and legal stands.
Speaking at an event part-organized by the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), David Nounagnon said that between 2011 and 2017, dwell time in Lagos ports rose from 20 to 22 days. He added that undue harassment by security personnel at the ports and at the border posts also hindered trade.
Nounagnon said that in 2017 Cotonou port had 14 days for cargo dwell time; Ghana’s Tema Port had 15 days dwell time, while Lome had dwell time of just nine days.
Nounagnon said that from 2011 to 2017 the number of road blocks within Nigeria dropped from 32 to 13, but that Nigeria remained the highest in the sub region.
Benin Republic had the lowest number of road blocks within the region with a total of four check points along her corridor.