The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has promised importers that the introduction of the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) will not bring an additional cost on imports into the country.
Emmanuel Jime, the executive secretary of NSC, gave the assurance in Lagos on Monday during the visit of the executives of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to the Council’s headquarters.
He said the cost implication has been located in a way that it doesn’t have dramatic damage to the economy even as he affirmed that manufacturers have the right to seek clarification on International Cargo Tracking Notes.
He further said that the cost of ICTN is not really new because it has always been part of shipping charges.
Pointing out that the gains of ICTN far outweigh the cost, Jime said that ICTN will curb the proliferation of small arms in the country, especially for those that come in through the seaports.
“It makes more sense that with ICTN we can secure ourselves because no one wants to do business in an environment devoid of security. On the issue of crude theft which is a huge challenge to the nation’s resources, ICTN will also stop that. One can argue that the amount of crude that has been stolen from Nigeria is enough to build the kind of infrastructural developments we want for the nation.
“The problem of the undervaluation of goods is something that can also be curbed by ICTN. These are some of the balancing factors that ICTN is going to bring. With these immense benefits that will come to the nation’s economy from ICTN, you will agree that there are more reasons to introduce ICTN than not to,” Jime added.
Earlier, John Aluya, a former vice president of MAN, Lagos Zone, said the introduction of ICTN will bring a new burden on Nigerian shippers and also inflate the prices of imported goods.
He said that Nigerian ports are already overtaxed as almost every regulatory issue at the nation’s ports comes with costs.
“Manufacturers’ ultimate aim is to make sure that Nigeria becomes the hub of the West-African region in production, but if our port costs keep rising we will be driving away the land-locked countries from using our ports,” he said.
