FG’s policy improving export business in Nigeria – SAHCO boss

Mr Basil Agboarumi, the Managing Director, Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc, says exportation of goods has increased in Nigeria due to the Federal Government’s favourable policies on doing business.

Agboarumi told our reporter on Sunday in Lagos that SAHCO was handling more exportation of agricultural produce by Nigerians.

“I think for the first time, we have seen a serious improvement in export business. It is because of the policies put in place by the government.

“Prior to the coming of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, what we had was importation of goods from various countries and exports neglected but today, I can tell you that export is picking up.’’

Agboarumi said that some of the major items being exported by air were yams, palm oil, vegetables, and electronics among others.

“So, there are a lot of items moving from here to all over the world and that has helped to grow the revenue that comes in from exports.

“Before now, as a ground handling company, we were only making money from imports but today, exportation is picking up.’’

According to him, the company has increased the storage capacity of its warehouse in order to preserve both imported and exported items.

“The major problem with perishable goods is storage and we have improved our capacity to do that.

“We have different cold rooms operating non-stop to preserve these items either when they are coming in or going out of the country.

“I can tell you that today, we have the best warehouse in West Africa.

“If you want a fully automated warehouse, a warehouse where you still see business being done in line with international best practices, then you need to come to SAHCO warehouse,’’ Agboarumi said.

The managing director also noted that auditors overseeing Middle East and Africa came to assess the company and certified its services good.

“We do the same certification with other airports in the world,’’ Agboarumi said.

He, however, noted that aviation ground handling business in Nigeria “is under-priced’’.

“We are spending so much but we are not receiving what is due to us. It takes a man like our Chairman with a large heart to succeed in this business.

“Some other people would have been discouraged because maintenance and running costs are huge. We have three generators and we use diesel.

“We have cold rooms, freezers that must be kept on and we are not sure of 24-hour power supply.

“We get trucks of diesel into fuel dump regularly,’’ Agboarumi said.

He pointed out that the company had a standard which the staff was conscious of, saying that the company could not go below the standard.

The managing director said that the company regularly embarked on of trainings, from the managing director level to the cleaner in order to ensure effective service delivery.

“From time to time, we see ourselves going back to the classrooms. Training is the heartbeat of this company.’’