Nigeria Losing $1tn Annually to Lack of Shipping Capacity, Cargo Freight

Gilbert Ekugbe 

The Chief Executive Officer of Starz Marine and Engineering Limited, Greg Ogbeifun, said Nigeria is losing an estimated $1 trillion annually in the entire shipping sector due to lack of vessels, infrastructure, human capacity and cargo carriage.

He stated this during his speech at a national discourse with distinguished maritime personalities (DMPs) organised by Maritime Nigeria.

According to him, “If I am to just hazard a guess, this country is losing close to a trillion dollar in the entire shipping sector both infrastructure, human capacity and cargo carriage.”

He also called on the private sector in the shipping subsector of the maritime to establish platforms to help actualise the policies of the sector.

According to him, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done what he is supposed to do by separating the Maritime ministry from the transportation hence it behooves on the sector players to take it upon themselves to make out something from the government’s laudable initiative.

He maintained that creating private platforms will help to refloat the sector and ensure its continuity.

For the purpose of floating the private platforms, the shipping magnate said he decided to come out of retirement back into active shipping operations even as he promised stakeholders to watch out for him in days to come. 

“We must commend him for having the boldness to come out whether he understands the implication or not, it is irrelevant. They have done what they are supposed to do. They have appointed whoever they want to appoint but the private sector should now rise up to set up platforms to help that ministry to actualise its objective,” he said.

“If we get established platforms for the policies of that ministry to be actualised, that ministry can get better than others and that is what has called me out back into active Maritime activities. Not because I am looking for money, or because I am looking for a contract but because we must talk the talk and walk the talk,” he stated.

On his part, the Former Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Hassan Bello, emphasised the need for Nigeria to build and design its ports for exports, lamenting that all the ports in the country are not configured for export.

“They are just there to receive. When are we going to start exporting? We either export or we perish. So we have to concentrate on the ports. The AfCFTA will favor Nigeria if our port infrastructure is modern and efficient,” he said.

He however, commended the Managing Director, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, for licensing export terminals in the country, saying that it would go a long way to boost Nigeria’s export trade.

The Convener, National Discourse 2, Mr. Kelvin Kagbare, expressed concerns that Nigeria may lose out in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) due to the country’s shipping development capacity index which they said is almost nil.

He bemoaned that the leaders vision for the nation’s youths and indeed the maritime and transport sector is not in sync with the speed and efficiencies of modern day international maritime trade.