The Director-General of the International Maritime Institute of Nigeria (IMION) , Thaddeus Udofia has warned that Nigeria risks losing capital and regional trade opportunities to competing hubs if it fails to urgently address its uncompetitive transit times, high logistics costs and weak digital integration across the maritime and trade value chain.
The IMION DG gave the warning while declaring closed the three-day IMION Executive Course on Logistics and Trade Facilitation for the Blue Economy, saying the country’s maritime potential would not translate into sustainable socio-economic development without a fundamental overhaul of its logistics and trade facilitation systems.
According to the DG, the three-day course, which brought together participants from 24 organisations, provided an opportunity to confront the operational realities undermining Nigeria’s maritime competitiveness and economic growth.
The DG said discussions during the programme focused on output inefficiencies, costly delays, high transaction costs, bureaucratic bottlenecks, inter-agency rivalry and weak intermodal connectivity, describing these challenges as factors that continue to undermine Nigeria’s competitive edge.
The course also examined multimodal integration, modern Customs processes, port operations and the need for seamless transport networks capable of connecting ports efficiently with inland markets.
The DG noted that participants also examined weaknesses across the maritime value chain, including gaps in cold-chain infrastructure that continue to limit Nigeria’s potential in fisheries and aquaculture.
The DG stressed that efficiency had become the currency of modern global trade, warning that countries and corridors unable to provide fast, transparent and cost-effective logistics services would struggle to attract investment.
The DG therefore charged participants to take the knowledge gained during the course beyond their notebooks and translate it into practical reforms in their organisations.
A syndicate group proposed an integrated cargo evacuation system that would connect ports, terminals, shipping lines, Customs, truckers, government agencies, rail, inland waterways and final destinations in a bid to make cargo movement in Nigeria faster, smarter and more coordinated.
Presenting the group’s recommendations , the syndicate identified poor coordination and limited real-time information sharing among stakeholders as major weaknesses responsible for delays and inefficiencies across Nigeria’s cargo chain.
According to the group, cargo movement currently involves several stages, including port and terminal clearance, trucking, rail or road transportation, inland destinations and delivery to the customer. However, cargo can encounter queues, inspections, repeated checks, traffic congestion, waiting time and additional costs at different points along the journey.
It identified long truck waiting and turnaround times, port and terminal congestion, multiple and repeated inspections, poor information sharing, unpredictable truck scheduling, high transportation and logistics costs, storage charges, delays for importers and businesses, excessive fuel consumption and emissions, and loss of competitiveness as major challenges confronting the cargo evacuation system.
It identified fragmented processes, poor sharing of cargo and truck information, unpredictable truck arrivals, repeated physical inspections, weak inter-agency coordination, road congestion, inadequate transport options, poor planning for inland destinations, limited real-time visibility of cargo movements and manual and duplicated documentation as some of the root causes of delays.
To address the challenges, the syndicate proposed an integrated system built around six practical actions, including a single cargo movement plan, smart truck deployment, shared data and information, risk-based inspections, performance monitoring and increased use of alternative modes of transportation.
A Senior Operations Officer, Mr. Babamusa Dan-Nasir of the Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency, formerly known as the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, also called for stronger collaboration among government agencies involved in cargo logistics to ensure seamless movement of goods from Nigerian ports to the final consumer.
Dan-Nasir, who spoke on the key lessons from a three-day executive course, said collective efforts among sister agencies are essential to achieving efficiency in Nigeria’s cargo movement system.
On immediate solutions to Nigeria’s logistics challenges, Dan-Nasir said existing trade facilitation systems should be better integrated across countries along major regional corridors, particularly the Lagos-Abidjan corridor.
He cited the Nigeria Customs Service’s One-Stop Shop, the Authorised Economic Operator programme and the National Single Window as initiatives that could contribute to a more efficient regional cargo movement system if properly synchronised with similar systems in neighbouring countries.
He proposed a common filing system and simplified documentation that could be shared across participating countries, saying this would reduce delays for trucks moving by road across borders to their final destinations.
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