By GODWIN ORITSE
LAGOS — NIGERIA may have lost the movement of transit cargo belonging to Chad, Niger, and Burkina Faso to Ghana, following its newly introduced cargo clearance procedure, gathered to save time and money.

Transit cargoes are goods imported by land locked countries but through other countries that have seaports.

Disclosing this to Vanguard, weekend, Mr Lucky Amiwero, President of National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, said the ports in Ghana had dedicated terminal through which these cargoes are loaded on trucks without delay.

He said Nigeria had not only  lost the movement of transit cargoes to Ghana, but was also on the verge of losing trans-shipment to the same country as bigger vessels prefer to go to Ghana due to its deeper draft.

He noted that the bureaucratic procedure in the goods clearing process in Nigeria, coupled with the issue of extortion, had made importers of these land locked countries to look at Ghana as better option.

Amiwero, who just returned from Ghana, noted that the line up of trailers at the dedicated terminals queuing to be loaded with such cargoes was a far cry from what was obtained in Nigeria.

He said the reason for the loss of the movement of such goods, which was another source of revenue generation was because of the way Nigerian government detached its itself from the running of the ports.