Following the foreign exchange crisis witnessed across the country recently, terminal operators at the nation’s seaports have lamented what they described as a rip-off on the part of the government.
The group disclosed that it lost N75bn to currency adjustments due to the loss in value of the naira against major foreign currencies in the last 10 years.
Their plight is connected to the fact that they pay their concession dues and meet other obligations in dollars.
The spokesperson for the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria, Mr. Bolaji Akinola, explained that they were currently spending three times the amount they paid 10 years ago as dues, owing to the continued fall in the value of the naira.
“In 2006, when we took over operation at the various terminals in the port, the exchange rate was N125 to the dollar. Now, it is about N400. For every one dollar paid out, an operator lost N275. About 85 per cent of our commitments are in dollars.
The tenure of the concession agreements ranged from 15 to 25 years and the estimated revenue to government is N2.6trillion over shareholders’ funds for the microfinance banking sector decreased by 42.91 per cent from N135.09bn to N77.12bn as of the end of December 2016.
The decrease in shareholders’ funds was largely attributed to losses recorded by the microfinance banks resulting from increase in non-performing loans.
The report further stated that total deposit liabilities dropped from N191.25bn as of June 2016 to N166.29bn as of December 31, 2016.
“The shareholders’ funds also dropped by 42.91 per cent from N135.09bn to N77.12bn as of December 31, 2016.
The decrease in the period,” Akinola stated. Due to the challenges, the concessionaires have made several appeals to the government, requesting to be allowed to pay their dues in naira.
