The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Usman, has said that concessioning Nigerian ports have brought tremendous improvement in Seaport development even as there are opportunities for further improvements via reforms.
Usman was represented at the recent maiden edition of a dialogue series tagged: Town hall meeting on cargo handling and port charges held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos, by the General Manager, Marine and Operations, Mr Joshua Asanga.
She said the concessioning regime had shaped the business attitude of Nigerians, especially in the maritime sector.
Usman also told participants that NPA will continue to provide reforms in the port business so as to attain the stauts of the best port in Africa.
Participants also called on the Federal Government to facilitate and adopt single window as part of measures to streamline cargo clearance at the nation’s Seaports.
Presenting his paper, the Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, who was represented by Director, Shipping Development of NIMASA, Mr Anthony Ogadi, pledged the commitment of the Agency to sustain security along the nation’s waterways.
In a communiqué issued by the event organizers, Business & Maritime West Africa, recommendation was to stop all pending legal hostilities between the Seaport operators and the Nigerian Shippers’ council, adding that there is the urgent need to checkmate extortion and other corruption tendencies which had been derailing ease of doing business at the ports.
