The Federal Government has demanded actions regarding the evacuation of goods from African ports. During the 43rd annual council meeting of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa on Monday in Lagos, President Bola Tinubu made this statement.
Speaking at a conference titled “The role of ports in the African Continental Free Trade Area,” the president mentioned that one of the biggest issues facing ports throughout the continent is the smooth evacuation of goods.
According to Tinubu, who was represented at the meeting by Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola, the meeting’s main emphasis is proof of the organizers’ will to collaborate in order to develop lasting solutions to the issues that face port operations throughout the continent.
He stated. “After the issues of adequate security and transparency, one other important factor deciding the competitiveness of ports is the seamlessness and efficiency with which cargoes are evacuated to and from the ports. This, without doubt, is an area in which port operations in Africa need a lot of intervention,”
According to the president, discussions are currently taking place in Nigeria and other African countries over the need to invest in port infrastructure in order to facilitate commerce.
He said “Of course, there are ongoing discussions in Nigeria and other African countries on the need to urgently invest in infrastructure and equipment to support trade facilitation”.
“Meetings like this put the issues in proper perspectives and serve as avenues for the generation of ideas that would aid our national governments to formulate effective policies,”
According to Tinubu, complete automation is the only viable option. “As a government that believes in the necessity of infusing information technology into public management to aid transparency and ease business processes, we are giving the Nigerian Ports Authority all the backing necessary to fast track the operationalisation of the port community system which is a precursor to the implementation of the National Single Window. Because we are persuaded that full automation is the only way to go if we plan to remain competitive in the global maritime industry.”
