NPA seeks legislative support to tackle low channel, security threat to businesses in Eastern ports

Worried by the low level of patronage and vessel calls to the seaports in the Eastern part of Nigeria, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has solicited for the support of the National Assembly to enable it fulfil its responsibilities of creating ease of navigation for vessels calling the ports.

Business activities in the four seaports in the South-South region, popularly known as Eastern ports that include Calabar, Rivers, Delta and Onne ports, are limited by shortfall in the supply of marine infrastructure such as shallow or low draught of the water channels, which forestall big oceangoing vessels from calling the ports; security concern due to the activities of sea robbers and pirates and poor road infrastructure.

As a result, shipping lines that use smaller vessels to ferry cargoes in bits pay extra cost, which is usually transferred to the final consumers of the imports by increased prices in the market.

Abdullahi Goje, general manager of NPA Eastern port, made the plea for a budgetary allocation that would not only empower the authority to deliver on its responsibilities as contained in the concession agreement signed between the terminal operators, the NPA and the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), but also cover for tackling the issues as tabled before the members of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, who were on a week oversight function in Lagos and Port Harcourt.

According to Goje, there are cases of infrastructure decay in ports, especially in the areas like collapsed berths; lack of protocol and operational vehicles and craft for effective monitoring of jetty operations; lack of finger mooring jetty to berth NPA craft in Bonny Island; dearth of pilot cutters and lack of fire hydrants at the quay wall, were the infrastructure that requires funds to provide, so that the port would function properly.

NPA is also required to dredge the water channels to 10 meters draught; to provide effective towage service, rehabilitation of Escravos Light House and Pilot Cutters; removal of wrecks to aid navigation, and provide adequate security in the port and channels, Goje said further.

Reacting to this, Ahmed Sanni Yerimah, chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, told journalists that the visit, which covered Lagos and Port Harcourt ports, was to ascertain the level of performance of the NPA and the companies that work with them.

The visit was also aimed at determining the progress and challenges recorded within the approved budgetary allocation, and to ensure that revenue due to government is also remitted into the federation coffers.

“We will make provision for NPA in the coming budget to enable them to discharge their responsibilities as required. We discovered that the relationship between NPA and some terminal operators is not as it should be because some terminals are not complying with the law but we are going deep into this by referring any of such cases to the investigative committee, which the vice chairman of this committee is also part of,” he explained.

On the other hand, the committee chairman confirmed that the terminal operators also complained that business was down due to recession and security challenges in the waterways. Once the recession is over, businesses will open up and more investors will come to ports like Onne because oil and gas business is located in Onne port, and we are sure business will pick up soon.

On concession agreement, he noted, covers not only revenue generation but also includes provision of road. “We raised objection to the road we saw at one terminal in Rivers Port, and this shows that some concessionaires don’t do what is expected of them. And the concession agreement is supposed to be reviewed every two years but surprisingly, the agreement has not been reviewed in the past 10 years, and we have a mandate to cancel any non-performing agreement,” he said.