CBN forex restriction; Nigeria loses 50% cargoes to Cotonou port

The Shippers Association Lagos State says 50 per cent of cargoes meant for Nigerian ports were being diverted to Cotonou port as a result of the Central Bank's forex restriction on some imported items.

The President of the association, Mr Jonathan Nicol made the disclosure while speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. He said that many Nigerian shippers had diverted their cargoes to the ports in the Republic of Benin since the policy started, adding that there were less restrictions on imports in the West African country.

Nicol said the development had deprived Nigeria a lot of revenue , urging the Federal Government to ease the policy to boost revenue. "When the CBN forex restriction policy came into being, we appealed to the Federal Government to review the policy and remove some critical items because it is hurting our business and the country`s revenue. "The reflection of that restriction is beginning to show up because we are having less cargoes in our ports.

Nicol decried what he called the incursion of foreign shipping lines into the freight forwarding business in the country, saying the development was not good for the economy. "If foreigners with better resources and expertise are allowed to intrude into the business, it might render no fewer than 100,000 Nigerian freight forwarders jobless." We do not understand why a foreigner will suddenly come from nowhere, claiming to be a Nigerian company and make incursion into the freight forwarding business.