Two million containers coming to Nigeria grossly inadequate – NPA MD

The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Abubakar Dantsoho says there is a need for more efficient cargo management system, especially for containerized freight.

Dantsoho said 2 million containers currently coming to Nigeria, a nation with over 200 million population, is grossly inadequate and charged the shipping lines to prioritize shipment to Nigeria.

Dantsoho stated this during his inspection of facilities at Lagos Ports – Apapa Port and Tin Can Island Port, during the week.

The NPA boss said “We are taking advantage of our population, because we can’t have 200 million people and have only 2 million containers. 2 million containers is not even enough for 20 million people of Lagos state. So that means that most of the cargo coming to Nigeria comes through either the borders via smuggling, or they come on trucks, via trailers, or some of them come to Nigeria through our pockets.

“You can go to Ghana and buy something and put it in your pocket. You come here with it, it’s transportation. Taking advantage of the population is key. God has blessed us with a very huge population, which is almost 65% or 70% youth, and then our capacity to buy, that is purchasing power, is bigger than most of the countries in West and Central Africa, we also have a democracy that is very robust.”

He pointed out that though the port has not achieved 100% of the set goals, the port is not where it was 20 years ago, noting that the private sectors are now handling the cargoes while the government is focusing on the shipping, stressing that efforts are in place to ensure things get better.

He said “So far, so good, when you compare where we are now to the last 20 years, or even more, the reform that ended in 2006 was a clear departure from when NPA was doing both the cargo and the shipping part of the business. Right from 2006, NPA was structured in the way that we are concentrating on the ship side of the business.

“Now private sector is doing the cargo handling. So that is how we now come up with the terminal operators that you have now in Apapa and Tin Can. And the essence of bringing the terminal operators is for Nigeria to be able to have a more advanced infrastructure and more advanced equipment without using public sector money.

“So, if you bring in private sector practitioners, you bring the terminal operators, what is expected of them by Nigeria is for them to improve infrastructure and equipment. That is the key objective. And as you can see, somehow we have achieved part of the aim.

‘In Apapa, we have terminal operators like APMT, and then in Tin Can, we have Five Star Logistics and others. And they are doing their best to improve infrastructure and equipment. But that is not to say that we are where we want to be or that we have achieved 100% of the goal we set out to achieve at the beginning of the reform. So we are looking to see how we can improve the relationship, how we can integrate in a way that we can move faster.”

Dantsoho also noted that the government is working assiduously on the Port Community System (PCS), stating that the system will lead to the national single window project.

“The government is trying to see how it is going to be, as soon as possible, to have an electronic integration, what is called the Ports Community System, which will now advance into the national single window. It is a major project of the federal government, and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Chief Oyetola, has been focused on that,” said he.

Dantsoho commended the terminal operators for what they have done so far and  urged them to make more investments into the system, especially in the area of equipment and infrastructure.

He assured investors that the government will protect their investment. “In alignment with the World Ports Sustainability program, this management is keen on ports eco-friendliness, and we will insist on investor compliance with this global imperative. On our part as a regulator we assure you of all the facilitation necessary to protect your investment and guarantee return on investment,” he noted.

Dantsoho also disclosed that the government is doing the best it can to ensure the nation’s ports get better, saying “as we are talking now, we are already almost getting to some projects, which are going to be worth a lot of millions of dollars. We are also doing the dredging of the channels. We are also doing a lot regarding technology.”

Dantsoho said the essence of the tour was to familiarize with the personnel and also get their advice where necessary, so as to move the industry forward. “The whole essence of the tour is to be able to mix with our people, both the stakeholders, the media, the clearing agents among others, and see how we can collaborate and cooperate more.”