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Nigeria has lost an estimated N6 trillion due to the gridlock on the Apapa road in Lagos. The 2nd Vice President of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Mauricio Alarcón, made this known at NECA’s 62nd Annual General Meeting on Tuesday.

Alarcon said, “A survey [carried out] by the Organised Private Sector (OPS) show that Nigeria lost about N3.06 trillion on non-oil export and about N2.5 trillion earnings annually across the different sectors due to the Apapa gridlock.”

The OPS comprises of membership organisations and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s private sector. These organisations include NECA, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Nigeria Association of Small-Scale Industries and Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.

Speaking at the AGM, Alarcón, who is also the CEO of Nestlé Nigeria, said there are still operational hiccups at the Lagos seaport despite the executive order by President Muhammadu Buhari to enhance transparency and efficiency at the port.

“There is an urgent need for policy reform so that businesses can operate optimally,” Alarcón said. “There is a need to fast-track infrastructural development at the Lagos port, a diversification programme and market-driven foreign exchange management, and significantly reduce the cost of governance.”

He added that the government must also expedite the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill and establish a market-driven electricity supply and billing system.

Alarcón said insecurity has increased unemployment and poverty in the country. “Unemployment surged from 9 per cent in 2015 to 23.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2018, while inflation remains high (11.22 per cent) in spite of the tight monetary conditions,” the Nestlé Nigeria CEO said.

The 62nd AGM took place at the NECA House in Ikeja, Lagos. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was invited as the keynote speaker to speak on the topic: “Government Economic Agenda and its Implication for the Organised Private Sector.”