A survey conducted by the organized private sector has revealed that Nigeria losses about N3.06 trillion, on non-oil export, and about N2.5 trillion earnings annually across the different sectors of the economy due to Apapa gridlock.
According to the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), the survey also shows that one year after the presidential Executive Order, operational hiccups being experienced at the nation’s seaports are yet to yield any result.
Speaking at the association’s 62nd annual general meeting in Lagos, Mauricio Alarcon, Nestlé’s managing director, noted that despite the government’s efforts to make doing business easier in the country, businesses still operate in an environment characterized by regulatory brigandage and widening infrastructural gap.
According to him, government must consistently facilitate an environment that not only attracts foreign direct investment but also enables existing local businesses to grow and flourish. He urged the federal government to do away with fuel subsidy that gulps about N1 trillion annually, and fast-track diversification programme, a market-driven foreign exchange management, sustained and significant reduction in the cost of governance, infrastructural development at the Lagos Port, a market-driven electricity supply and billing system.
“We urge that government should take urgent steps to facilitate the completion of the Apapa Ports road, the Agbara Industrial Estate road and other strategic roads in the nation. Billions of Naira is lost annually due to the players in the power sector in the interest of the nation. Grandstanding, name-calling and buck-passing have left businesses and the general public disenchanted”, he stated.
