Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, minister of transportation, has commended the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), for increasing the revenue generation, and remittance into government coffers.
The Minister gave the commendation during his maiden visit to the NPA headquarters as part of the activities marking the 2022 World Maritime Day.
He assured stakeholders of the government’s readiness to provide support to the management of the NPA towards making the port more efficient and customer friendly.
He said this will not only attract investments into the nation’s maritime industry but will enable Nigeria to remain relevant within the comity of maritime nations.
He called the management of the NPA to further block all other grey areas.
Sambo further reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to ensure that the Lekki Deep Seaport commences operations before the end of 2022 as scheduled.
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He said the Lekki Port and the recently approved Badagry Deep Seaport would create jobs for Nigerians, encourage trade, and investment, and further boost revenue generation in the country.
He urged the NPA to ensure the full implementation of barge operations at the ports to further facilitate the movement of goods from the seaports. He added that it would be beneficial to the nation in the area of jobs, especially for the fabrication industry, and that it will reduce the cost of doing business for consignees.
Earlier, Mohammed Bello-Koko said his management is determined to position the nation’s seaports to be in line with international best practices.
While soliciting support from the ministry to enable the NPA to tackle the challenges impeding its operations, he assured the Minister that NPA would make Nigerian ports competitive towards becoming a hub within sub-Saharan Africa.
He said NPA has begun the process of acquiring additional tug boats and pilot cutters to facilitate port operations by reducing vessel waiting time.
