Nigeria lost $500 million a year as a result of the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) implementation delay, according to the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC).

This was disclosed during a House of Representatives hearing on the ICTN, a cargo tracking device, by Pius Akutah, Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC).

The House of Representatives committee on shipping services, customs, ports and harbour, and marine safety, education, and administration is holding the hearing to look into why the contract hasn’t been implemented.

It should be mentioned that the NSC passed a rule in 2019 requiring all exports to Nigeria to use the ICTN as a loading document.

The rule states that a loading certificate, or ICTN, is necessary for any cargo that has been bought from overseas and carried for business, commercial, or occasionally diplomatic or private reasons.

According to the head of the NSC, Nigeria has lost about $2.5 billion in the past five years as a result of non-implementation. Five years have gone by with no improvement as a result of some EFCC-led investigations.

After two years of implementation, it abruptly ended. Every year, we lose that much.

A partnership headed by Antaser Nigeria Limited was hired by the former president Muhammadu Buhari’s government in March 2023 to put in place a cargo tracking system for all imports and exports, including those of crude oil.

With Antaser Limited and four other businesses, NSC had inked a “No Cure, No Pay Basis” deal with a 60:40 revenue-sharing ratio that accrued to the consortium and the federal government, respectively.