Nigeria begins export through Kaduna ICD--- Shippers Council

Harboursandport.com: Lagos --- Following assurance by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, Hassan Bello, that efforts would be directed at export through the Inland Container Depot, ICD in Kaduna, shipping of agricultural produce through the facility has commenced.

Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC,
Hassan Bello.

The Council explained that Hibiscus (used in making local drink known as Zobo); Ginger and Sesame seeds are presently being exported through the facility to Egypt and some West African countries.

Kaduna Area Officer, Bala Adamu, said that claims that port operations have not started at the facility is not correct as they received about 20 containers by rail from the port in Lagos recently.

According to Adamu, “The task is enormous and you cannot get it right at once considering the fact that this is a new concept and of course people have not yet embraced it.  

“In the last two years we have been intensifying efforts on export. It has yielded positive results but there is more that needs to be done, especially people in the hinterland.

It is even the export that we are actually now trying to concentrate on, we are educating people in Kaduna here. Yes, we have received some consignment here heading for Egypt.  Some people exported Hibiscus, you know used for making Zobo and others are sesame seeds and Ginger.

“We are talking about specifically the northern market, the neighbouring countries with Nigeria, Chad and northern Cameroon. Though quite slowly and quite minimum but we expect that the inward cargo should complement the outward cargo because we do not want the containers to just go back empty,” he noted.

He noted that it is not right for people to play politics with the facility as it has economic benefit for the country.

“People don't seem to understand that there is difference between politics and reality and there is always a difference between the two. This is an economic issue and the other one is just mere campaigns or electioneering. The truth of the matter is that the present administration in January commissioned it and even before that time, we have been receiving consignments,” he noted.