The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has commended the efforts of the Bauchi and Borno State governments to establish inland dry ports to boost exportation and trade, thereby opening their states and the northeast to international trade and supporting economic growth.
The executive secretary of NSC, Dr Akutah Pius, said this during a northeast stakeholders meeting in Bauchi.
He said the federal government had granted approval to the Bauchi government for the establishment of an inland dry port since the Obasanjo presidency, noting that work has not progressed much afterwards.
“We are gearing towards getting to the point where the implementation committee can be set up, and then we will begin to go into that phase.
“Borno State is also working towards developing an inland dry port. The governor of the state paid us a visit at our office. He is one of the three governors that has ever visited the Council in Lagos,” he said.
Dr Pius said already a healthy competition for the establishment of inland dry ports in the northeast is brewing, and it would be a catalyst for attracting importation and exportation to the region’s untapped international trade resources. “Gombe state also talked about inland dry port,” he added.
“I see a competition swelling up here. Well, it’s not the first time. We also have three inland dry ports in the Northwest. We have in Kano, in Kaduna, and in Katsina. Maybe we are going to repeat that in the Northeast. Well, there’s nothing wrong with that,” the Executive Secretary noted.
He said establishment of inland dry ports in the northeast would also attract investors from neighbouring West African countries, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Bauchi State, Salis Gamawa, noted that, preparatory to the construction of the inland dry port in the state, his ministry, in line with Governor Bala Mohammed’s directive, undertook a study tour to Dala and Kaduna Inland Dry Ports.
He said that when constructed, the dry port would ensure the inclusion and integration of the northeastern part of the country in the international trade scheme of the country.
The Commissioner called on the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to support exporters and importers from the northeast to compete favourably with their counterparts from other parts of the country.
