The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms. Hadizah Bala-Usman, says the nation’s ports are now attractive and calls on the investors to improve on their patronage.
Bala-Usman made this known during a three-day training for Maritime Reporters and Editors on Data-Driven Journalism with the Theme; “NPA and Ongoing Reforms’’ held in Lagos.
The training was organized by the Management of Premium Times Ltd. in collaboration with the NPA. According to her, the developing nations of the world are presently faced with the challenges of industrial growth and development, which can be assessed through the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country.
She said that Nigeria was not an exception, saying that maritime stakeholders had called on relevant authorities to tap from the numerous potentials and opportunities Nigeria could benefit from its location with Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The commissioning of the Command and Control Communication and Intelligence Centre for NPA will serve as surveillance of all activities and as an information network centre for security agencies in the ports.
‘‘Acquisition and commissioning of four new tug boats namely MT Daura, MT Ubima, MT Uromi and MT Majiya in order to further improve operational efficiency. “Upgrade of 25-year Port Development Master Plan. Transformation of the Authority’s manpower development practices to improve the skill, knowledge and capacity of employees.
“Just yesterday, we commissioned a Simulator Centre for the training of our pilots, which have enabled us to train 96 pilot trainees within four months. “As we move forward at further repositioning the sector through our operational diligence by the help of Ease of Doing Business, I call on the media to increase partnership to navigate through the troubled waters toward maximizing the benefits of the sector,” she said.
She assured the major players in the maritime industry that the authority would explore optimally the area of revenue generation and job creation to the benefits of the Nigerian populace across the board. The NPA boss said that the management intended to vigorously enforce all standards for greater efficiency and service delivery, saying that the authority sincerely needs media support in this regard.
She explained further that NPA strongly believed it could not have achieved these alone without media support for improved safety, environmental protection, operational efficiency and improved service delivery among others.
“With this certificates, our sector through the NPA is experiencing reduced operational expenses, better management control, increased customer satisfaction, improve customer service and most importantly our port is now attractive to investors for national growth and developments,’’ she said. She said that the benefit would fast track the growth of the nation’s revenue through international trade.
“Before the implementation of the reform of the sector by the Federal Government in 2006 through the concession of the ports to terminal operators, the sector was faced with numerous challenges, which did not allow for operators to function at optimal capacity in line with international best practices.
“I stand before you today and emphatically make bold to inform you that with your unalloyed loyalty as the watchdog of the sector; we have recorded tremendous progress at all fronts at ensuring that the sector competes favorably within Sub-Saharan Africa, Gulf of Guinea and most importantly before the international community.
“The Management of NPA was recognized by the International Organization for Standardization Certification for our positive step toward moving the sector to the next level,” she said.’’
Bala-Usman commended the media and organisers for putting up the event and most importantly choosing the theme, which would have greater benefit across the board.
