By ANDREW OJIEZEL
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the premier Chamber of Commerce and one of the leading voices in the organised private sector (OPS) in collaboration with the Financial Derivatives Company, a renowned economic consultancy firm is set to hold a public-private dialogue on Port Efficiency & Maritime Sector Roadmap in Nigeria.
According to the chamber, the objective is to design a roadmap for the transformation of the Nigerian maritime sector. It is towards port efficiency and trade facilitation across borders.
The Stakeholders’ forum, which is billed to hold on Friday 21st October, 2016 by 9:30am at Oriental Hotel, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Victoria Island, Lagos, is expected to bring together key government agencies major players at the Nigerian ports, importers, exporters and other stakeholders to discuss the current state of the ports and proffer solutions to myriads of problems militating against the growth and development of the sector and improve ease of doing business.
According to the LCCI Maritime Ports Research conducted in the third quarter of 2016 “The efficiency of port operation is a major driver of trade and economic activities across countries. Unfortunately, over the years, users and operators at the Nigerian Ports have been facing lingering challenges and bottlenecks.”
The research further revealed that, “Improving ports governance for greater efficiency has major implications for the potential development of non-oil sectors at this time. The growth and promotion of trade and economic activities could only be pragmatic, when economies thrive to provide a conducive and friendly environment. Public authorities and the private sector have come to the realization that the starting points for activating the diversification objective of the present government is fixing the ease of doing business at the nation’s ports.”