- Nigeria and its Nigerien counterpart have concluded plans to move three million tonnes of transit cargoes from Lagos seaports to Jibiya in Niger annually.
- Disclosing this in Abuja yesterday, Mallam Mohammed Bashar , Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, said that the move to transit cargoes to Niger has become necessary as a result of the derivable benefits.
- Niger is a landlocked country and as such, the country is constrained in its international trade.
- Bashar also said that Nigeria stands to benefit more from the collaborative effort of both countries as the development will translate to more revenue for government, terminal operators, freight forwarders, truckers and dockworkers.
- Bashar said at a workshop on “Facilitation of Transit Trade in Nigeria” explained that landlocked countries are constrained in participation in international trade as they have to depend on coastal states for the movement of merchandise.
- He called on participants to proffer solutions to problems mitigating against the movement of transit cargoes between both countries.
- He also said that Niger generates a high volume of cargoes as such, the country cannot be ignored.
He said “transit requirement makes landlocked countries dependent on their neighbours’ transport infrastructure with increased transaction costs that affects their international competitiveness.
