‘Why manufacturers lose 50% production to high transportation’ 

Nigeria shippers Council (NSC), has hinged the loss of up to 50 percent manufacturers produce to high cost of haulage, poor infrastructure and connectivity of the Nigerian transport system.

The Executive Secretary, NSC, Hassan Bello, said this at the Maiden National Transportation Summit and induction of the Chattered Institute of Transport Administration Nigeria (CIOTA), themed, “Unlocking the Potential of Transportation for sustainable Development.

Bello pointed out that adequate infrastructure provision is pivotal to reducing cost of doing business, adding that if there were good roads, railway, and power sectors, then the country would have comparative advantage.He said: “in terms of cost, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), will tell you that the transport component of their cost of production will be up to 48 percent, in Europe it will be probably 19 percent, and that means Nigeria is not competitive

“So we want the Institute to look at the economy seriously, and situate transport within that contest such that if we have a dry port in Kaduna, it should bring economy to the door step of the people.”Bello decried that there are massive distortions in the transport system, which is heating up the economy and not good for a country that wants to diversify its economy, as there is need to professionalise the nation’s transport system.

According to him, professionals would have considered population growth at the planning stage for the construction of Apapa and Tincan seaports “That is why you have a whole town built in Apapa without the knowledge of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), which should own Apapa and even beyond. One cannot put a kiosk without the permission of NPA,  that is why we abandoned the rail, and concentrated on only one mode of transportation because of lack of professionalism; access to ports is supposed to be inclusive,” he stated

The President of CIOTA Dr Bashir Jamoh, in his address disclosed plans to interface with the Head of Service, and Ministry of Education, to ensure that all transporters had a place in the respective offices of ministries departments and agencies (MDAs).He said: “From now onward, we will pursue vigorously that we don’t handle the issue of transportation with levity. Only professional transporters are qualified to handle transport related issues.”He also pledged to ensure that every qualified transporter becomes chattered members of the Institute, and that members are given adequate protection cover in terms of professionalism so as to produce people that can rejig, redesign, reactivate, and rebuild transportation system in Nigeria.