The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has revealed that about N6 trillion revenue has been lost to the Apapa gridlock.
Mauricio Alarcon, NECA’s second vice president, who spoke at the recently held 62nd annual general meeting, lamented that operational hiccups still exists at the port despite a presidential executive order to promote the efficiency of operations.
“Survey by the OPS shows that Nigeria lost about N3.06 trillion on non-oil export and about N2.5 trillion earnings annually across the different sectors due to the Apapa gridlock,” he said.
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“There is the need to fast-track infrastructural development at the Lagos port, diversification programme, market-driven foreign exchange management, sustain and a significant reduction in the cost of governance.
“The government should also fast-track the passage of Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, market-driven electricity supply and billing system.”
Alarcon tasked the government to tackle the nation’s level of insecurity, which he said has already increased unemployment and poverty in the country.
“Unemployment surged from 9% in 2015 to 23.1% in third quarter of 2018, while inflation remains high in spite of tight monetary policy conditions,” he said.
“There is also a spread of poverty. The economy needs to recover,” he added.