NPA cries out, call MDAs to order 

From right: Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, CON and Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman during the 2nd edition of the maritime Stakeholders’ interactive forum tagged: “Implementation of Executive Order I (Ease of Doing Business) in a secure maritime environment” held in Warri, Delta State.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has requested the intervention of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo over non-compliance by some government agencies with the Presidential Order on the Ease of Doing Business at Ports. The Managing Director of NPA, Ms Hadiza Usman said this on Saturday in Lagos.

It will be recalled that the Office of the Vice President oversees the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) which issued the Presidential Order. The Order streamlined the activities of all agencies in the nation’s ports to achieve a 24-hour cargo clearance target. Agencies allowed representation at the ports are: Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Police, Department of State Security (DSS).

Others are: Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Port Health and the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),’’ he said. The NPA managing director was told by a delegation of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) that some government agencies were flouting the Presidential directive. She said, in response, that it was regrettable that some agencies had not fully complied with the Order. Usman said that the authority would continue to fulfil its own part of the Order, adding that NPA could not compel other agencies to do what they were supposed to do.

“NPA is implementing its own part of the Order. We cannot compel other agencies to do what they are supposed to do,’’ she said in a statement. She noted that aggrieved stakeholders should also report the defaulting agencies to the appropriate authorities. The National Vice President of ANCLA, Dr Kayode Farinto urged the managing director to intervene to ensure that officials of the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine are prevented from entering the ports. Farinto also made an appeal that NPA should ensure that the newly- constructed temporary Truck Park at Tin Can Island Port (TCIP) is put to immediate use.