John Adams, Minna
The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industries Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has thrown its weight behind the recent closure of the country’s borders, saying the decision is long overdue.
“We support the decision of the government in its entirety, in fact is in order and long overdue,” it said.
NACCIMA also maintained that the Federal Government should resist any pressure for the reopening of the borders.
The Director General of the Association in Niger State, Alhaji Adamu Salihu, who spoke to reporters in Minna on Thursday urged the Federal Government to utilise the opportunity created by the border closure to carry out some reforms at the country’s ports.
According to him, “the closure of the borders is a welcome development, it has been long overdue, we should seize this opportunity to reform our ports.
“We should eradicate human rats in the ports and make the ports safer in order to build confidence on importers.”
Adamu Salihu also suggested that while the borders reman closed, the Federal Government “put structures in place so that imported goods will be received in good order.”
He believed that “if we make this effort and there is no any reform in the ports, it will amount to wasted efforts, time and money.
“This is a good policy all they need to do is that in the short run the structures should be put in place to avoid any backlash.”
The Director General charged the government to fix the Onne and Warri ports so as to decongest the Logos Port, adding that “people in that axis can use the ports instead of everyone coming to Lagos.”
Salihu also urged the government not to be deterred by the small pockets of smuggling still ongoing despite the closure stressing that “there is no economy that can stop smuggling completely, smuggling is part of life; what we have to do is to reduce it to the barest minimum.”
He observed that neighbouring countries pleading for the opening of the borders are only trying to ” feather their own nests,” and that the government should ignore them.
Commenting on the dilapidation of most roads in the country, the Director General advised the Federal Government to partner with reputable construction companies in the country for the construction and maintenance of these roads under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, saying that these firms should be allowed to toll the roads and recoup their investment in a period of not less than 25 years.
Salihu applauded the agreement reached between government and organised labour regarding the implementation of the new federal Minimum Wage, saying the Chamber is convinced all tiers of government can pay the new wages because many ghost names have been expunged from salary vouchers, leading to a lot of savings.