Customs Area Controller of Apapa Port Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu has commenced moves to encourage the use of rail for cargo movement from the nation’s premier port to other parts of the country.
At a meeting on Wednesday June 11, 2025,with officials of the Nigeria Railway Corporation(NRC) in attendance Olomu assured of customs support in facilitating trade and seamless cargo movements from Lagos Port Complex to other states linked by rail.
Comptroller Olomu sought and got support of terminal operators like APM Terminals, ENL Consortium and Eko Support with additional assurances of cooperation from various freight forwarding associations
The Controller said the stakeholders engagement was necessitated by recent moves of the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who recently visited the railway station and a private bonded terminal at the railway area to facilitate legitimate trade.
While listing the benefits of rail in haulage, Comptroller Olomu said the initiative if implemented efficiently would save cost, ensure security of insured cargoes in transit, reduce pressure on port access roads and promote utilising of intermodal transport system in growing the blue economy.
Various private sector stakeholders that spoke at the meeting lauded the idea and promised to cooperate with Controller. They agreed to jointly work out modalities for implementation.
Presently, cargo movement from Lagos to Ibadan is on with prospects of more routes being reopened like Lagos to Kaduna Inland Dry Port, Lagos to Dalai Inland Dry Port in Kano and Funtua Island Dry Port in Katsina
The meeting was attended by Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) , African Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) and others
Also speaking at the meeting, Akin Oshinowo the NRC head of operations lauded the meeting as a major step to achieve a standard operating procedure (SOP) for effective and sustainable rail movement of cargoes from the ports
He added that the meeting aligns with the NRC thrust to engage stakeholders for better deployment of rail services towards economic development
