SSASCGOC urges FG not to renew contracts of underperforming terminal operators

The Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations And Government Owned Companies (Maritime Branch) has expressed displeasure over the poor performances of some terminal operators and called on the Federal Government of Nigeria not to renew their concession contracts but renew those who have added value to the growth of the port system.

The Maritime Branch President, Comrade Akin Bodunde, expressed this while interacting with PortNews on the state of the nation’s seaport industry in his office at the association secretariat in Lagos on Monday, June 16, 2025.

According to Comrade Akin Bodunde, who refused to mention names of terminal operators that have failed to perform, “when you are talking about terminal operators, some of them have done well. They have improved the facilities. Some of them have not done well and that is the truth. But when you go to PTML, you see some of the development of logistics, or you go to SIFAX, or you go to this one in Apapa.

“There are some that are not meeting up. They are just making money. They have not contributed to the development of the port. Generally, we know them and we are seeing some people whose contracts will not be renewed. Because some of their agreements are coming to an end now. Since 2006, some are 25 years, some are 20 years. It is elapsing. And we are saying the people that have not added value to the port, their contracts should not be renewed.

“While people who have added value to the port development, port facilities, the Federal Government should renew their concession contracts. That means they are doing well, but some of them are not doing well. We will not mention names, but they know themselves. They are not doing well.”

Comrade Akin Bodunde pointed out that all the government-owned seaports are old and due for rehabilitation and that was why the Federal Government granted the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) an approval to take a World Bank loan. According to him, the newest government-own seaport, Tin Can Island Port, was built in 1976.

The SSASCGOC President said “Ports need to be  rehabilitated. Thank God, the government has approved the rehabilitation. The issue is that if you go to Lekki Port and see the beauty of Lekki Port, you cannot compare it with our ports. The newest port was built in 1976. You are talking about a port that was built many years ago. They are old and they need to be rehabilitated. That was why the Federal Government approved for us to borrow money from the World Bank, about 700 million dollars, to rehabilitate the port.

“The basement of our ports are eroded by sea water and we need to build it up.  Every port is computerized. Our own is not. Those are the things they want to spend the money for. We need to raise the level of the port activities and the  port infrastructure generally in line with the international standard.”

While praising the present leadership of the NPA under Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho for a good performance since his appointment as the Managing Director in 2024, Bodunde expressed dismay over the failure of the Federal Government complying with the 50-50 revenue sharing percentage,  saying the money coming to the NPA has fallen short of the 50 and which, he said, has hampered its port infrastructure development.

According to him, all the seaports are powered by generators which run on diesel and the cost implications are very huge.

On the Dantsoho’s performance, Bodunde has this to say, “Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho is not a stranger in NPA. He is one of those who started in NPA and since he assumed the leadership of NPA, he has been trying.

“On the issue of welfare, he has tried because he has promoted General Managers, he has promoted about 57 Assistant General Managers and has done outstanding promotion over two years, 2023-2024, which is about 1,500 workers. We did the exam last year and the result was released. Those promotions have been there for the past 3 years.

“When you talk about welfare and the performance of Dantsoho  and the current executive management, I think they have tried. The only problem we have is the government issues, not giving us what is due to us in terms of finance.  We make money, but do we benefit from that money? No.”

On the Federal Government not complying to the 50-50 revenue percentage, he said “last year, they (federal government) started with 50-50 percent. Today, it is not realistic. Even the 50 they are supposed to give us, they are not giving us. NPA is an organization where you need to spend money to make money. If the ports are not in order, it will be difficult to generate money.  Will other organizations in the port make money? No. Will NPA itself make money? No.

“A lot of jobs are there. There is no port that is not running without a generator. The least generator in the port is 100 KVA. When you are running a 100 KVA generator, you are talking about two or three drums of diesel every day. There are some ports that run three 100 KVA generators. Tin Can Island Port is big. Ikorodu is under Tin Can. KLT is another terminal under Tin Can Port. All the ports including Apapa, Port Harcourt, Calabar run on diesel. When you don’t make money, how do you run your bill? How do you produce your bill? How do you attend to key issues?”

Bodunde justified the creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, pointing out that Nigeria,  as a big maritime nation with a big population and markets and is dependent on by many landlock nations, deserves a separate ministry to cater for her maritime activities.

He maintained that since the creation of the ministry, the minister, Adegboyega Oyetola, has been doing a good job as the performances of the agencies under it have doubled and has led to increase in revenue generation.

“The creation of marine and blue economy is justified. The ministry should focus more on how to improve the services and to build new ports in a modernized way, for them to be able to contribute to the revenue of the government,” said Bodunde, admitting that Nigeria needs more deep sea ports while considering the success of the Lekki Port

“Yes, of course, Nigeria needs more deep seaports because we have population, and we have trade. Nigeria is big, and it is large market. And because it is only Nigeria alone that other countries depend on us,” said he.

On the campaign by Nigeria for a seat on the IMO Council, Comrade Bodunde emphatically said Nigeria deserves to be in the Council considering her enormous maritime wealth and contributions to the growth of the industry not only in Africa but in the global world.
He said the association is strongly supporting the Nigeria’s bid and would work for its actualisation.

“Of course, we need to be part of this bid. Because when you are talking about African maritime industry, Nigeria cannot be underrated. We have the population. We have a large area covered with water that is directly linked to the Atlantic Ocean, which is an advantage to us. And we have a good market. And a lot of countries depend on us.  We need a seat in the Council. We are supporting the bid 100 percent,” Bodunde said with emphasis.