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The prices of goods and services in Nigeria may further rise as the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has increased its tariffs by 15 per cent.
The development is also expected to affect the cost of doing business in the country.
The new tariff regime was made known by the Managing Director of NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, in Lagos on Thursday during the ‘Stakeholders’ Engagement for the Approved 15per cent NPA Tariff Increment Across Board.’
Dantsoho said the management’s decision to meet stakeholders was borne out of desire to carry everyone along.
Compelled by the exigency of bringing Nigerian ports up to speed with those of its peers in terms of infrastructure and equipment, Dantsoho said the NPA, has secured necessary approvals for an upward review in its tariffs which was last reviewed in the year 1993.
The upward tariff review which is to cut across all NPA rates and dues is premised on the urgent need to address the undesirable reality of aged and weak Infrastructure, obsolete equipment and slow port capacity expansion which has continued to diminish the performance and indeed competitiveness of Nigerian Ports.
He said globally, port authorities depend on revenue from operations to stay alive to their responsibilities which includes construction and maintenance of Port infrastructure, dredging of channels, provision of aids for safe navigation, provision of modern marine crafts for efficient harbour services, automation and digitization of port transactions, port security, energy efficiency and training and retraining of its employees
However, operators at the ports declared that the implementation of the 15 per cent ports tariff hike would lead to a higher cost of doing business nationwide, as the cost of commodities would rise.
Reacting to the development, the Head of Department of Shipping and Terminals at the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, Ukochukwu Nnadi, said the 15 per cent hike in ports tariff would lead to a rise in the cost of doing business nationwide.
“Definitely it will add to the cost of doing business because every kobo added to doing any particular thing, no matter what the thing is, will be passed to the customers, and the customers in this case are the stakeholders,” he said.
“As the NPA wants to add cost, even if it’s a kobo to their changes to the operators, it will be passed to customers sooner or later; it is as easy as that. So it is going to add to the cost of doing business.”
Also speaking, the National Protocol Officer of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Riwane Amuni, said the hike in tariff would add to the cost of doing business.
He noted that the reason why operators are silent about it is because it’s been a long time since the NPA reviewed its tariffs.
“It will definitely add to the cost of doing business because it is an additional tax on the masses. But the reason people are not really talking about this is because it has been a long time since they increased tariffs. That’s why the noise is not much.
“But all things being equal, it is still an additional cost. Because all these things you are seeing, like the additional tariff or input, will tell on the customers because whatever the importers spend they will put it on the masses,” he said.