The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ms Hadiza Usman

  • Lawyers urge NPA, NIMASA to champion review of policy

    The Free-on-Board (FoB)  policy is causing the country a huge loss, maritime lawyers and ship owners, have said.

    They want the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Usman and the Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration  Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside,  to champion review of the policy.

    FoB is a trade policy that allows a buyer to pay for the shipment and landing costs of the goods from the port of origin.

    A maritime lawyer, Mr Felix Adeyemo, said there was need for the Federal Government to adopt Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) for the lifting of crude oil.

    CIF, he said, gives the seller the right to arrange for the ferrying of goods by sea to a port of destination, and provide the buyer with the documents necessary to collect them from the carrier.

    Another maritime lawyer, Mr Muhammed Adegoroye, said a major part of the problems faced by indigenous owners was due to the failure to enforce NIMASA Act, 2007, 10 years after its enactment.

    He said Nigeria is the only country that is still using the FoB policy.

    A member of the Ship Owners Association, Mrs Margaret Orakuwsi, said the indigenous shipping firms have over the years been grappling with lack of cargo support, adding that this had made many of them to close shop, a development which led to unemployment years after the enactment of the act and other legislations, such as the Cabotage Act, 2003 and Nigerian Content Act 2010.

    “The policy is being used to the detriment of the economy,” she said.

    Mrs Orakuwsi, who is also a lawyer, said the adoption of either the CIF or FoB policy by the Federal Government should be based on how the policy is of advantage to the parties involved in the shipping.

    The intention of the Cabotage Act, she added, was to give indigenous shipping firms the support to enable them to compete with their foreign counterparts, who have usurped the cargoes on the international shipping route, the coastal and inland region.

     

  • Apapa gridlock killing trade facilitation programme – NPA

    The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Usman, said the traffic gridlock in Apapa had affected access into the ports and killing trade facilitation programme of government.

    According to a statement by NPA on Monday in Lagos, Usman said this at a stakeholders meeting held in her office.

    She said that the bad access roads into Apapa was killing the trade facilitation programme of the government and had affected the smooth delivery of cargoes to importers.

    “NPA is not happy that all modalities and measures adopted so far have not translated into quick cargo movement in and out of the ports,” the News Agency of Nigeria  (NAN)  quotes the managing director as saying.

    She told the stakeholders that a positive action would be taken by the NPA in the interest of all and the economy.

    Usman told the stakeholders that “the quick rehabilitation of the road remains a priority to her team to reposition the ports and salvage the economy’’.

    She received the report on traffic decongestion of Apapa and its environs.

    The managing director appealed to Messrs Dangote Construction Nig. Ltd and the Management of Flour Mills Nig Ltd. to expedite action toward an early reconstruction of Wharf Road.

    Usman also appealed to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) and members of the National Assembly to include the reconstruction of Creek Road linking Tin-Can Island Port in the 2017 budget.

    She said the minister and the lawmakers should help to see to the quick completion of the trailer park opposite the Tin-Can Port to keep the trucks away from the road.

    Usman also called for synergy between the Federal and State Governments as well as the stakeholders to find a permanent solution to the perennial gridlock on the road.

    She urged port users to always subject themselves to security checks at the gates leading to the ports and warned that unauthorised persons intruding into the ports should stop or face sanctions.

    The managing director said that NPA would soon introduce measures that would make it impossible for those without genuine business to access the ports.

    Usman said NPA would continue to hold meetings with stakeholders to workout modalities on measures to be adopted to resolve the gridlock in the interest of all stakeholders and the nation’s economy.

    She said the Federal Government was determined to find a lasting solution to the chaotic traffic situation along Apapa axis.

    Usman said that efforts were being made by the Federal Government and the NPA to improve and sustain efficient road transport network within and around the ports.

    The managing director said that government would promote trade, improve cargo delivery and boost the economy.

    In another development, the Commandant, 9th Infantry Brigade, Nigerian Army, Brig.-Gen. Sani Mohammed has appealed to the managing director to visit the widows of the soldiers of the Brigade, who lost their lives in the on-going Nigerian military’s counter insurgency campaign in the North Eastern part of the country.

    Mohammed made the plea during a courtesy visit to the NPA managing director’s office in Lagos.

    He said there should be a visit by the NPA boss to see the widows to use her advocacy work to better the lots of the widows, whom their breadwinners died fighting to conquer the insurgents.

    “Considering all she did with the BringBackOurGirls Campaign, we would want her to come and see our widows and employ her advocacy initiative to better their lots,’’ Mohammed said.

    “I know the managing director when she was fighting for the abducted Chibok girls. Considering all she did with the BringBackOurGirls, we want her to come and see our widows,’’ he said.

    Mohammed said that the Brigade, having taken part in all Nigeria’s military campaigns at home and abroad, was also part of the security apparatus in Lagos tagged: ‘Operation Mensa’.

    He said that the Brigade was extending its hand of fellowship and relationship to the ports authority with a view to exploring ways it could add value to the security of the Nigerian ports industry.

    Responding, Usman, who was represented at the event by the Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Dr Sokonte Davies, said the advocacy works of the managing director, was a passion which she inherited from her parents.

    “The managing director’s advocacy works were not what she just learnt but what she saw her father doing, so it is in her.

    “I believe that she will really find time to visit the widows of the soldiers, who lost their lives in the counter-insurgency campaign,’’ Davies said.

     

  • NPA, BudgIT, sign MoU on budget implementation

    The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BudgIT Information Technology Network to open up its budget for the public.

    The General Manager, Public Affairs, Chief Michael Ajayi, in a statement on Monday in Lagos, said the MoU would promote transparency and accountability.

    The Managing Director of NPA, Ms Hadiza Usman, said the partnership became necessary for the development of an open budget system platform and implementation of a public data dissemination programme.

    She said that this would help the organisation in blocking revenue leakages.

    Usman said the MoU would provide Nigerians with all the necessary information during implementation of the NPA’s budget.
    .
    She said BudgIT had achieved feats in socio-technological advocacy toward opening up of public budgets for citizens’ comprehension.

    Usman said with the MoU, NPA would be able to deliver its mandate and create more wealth for Nigerians.

    She said that the MoU would also assist NPA as a critical organ in the economic artery of the nation to promote effective and efficient management of all its terminals across the country.

    The managing director said the partnership, apart from promoting transparency in public expenditure, would also instil a framework for transparent budget provisions for the authority.

    She said the MoU would allow stakeholders to add their inputs, “encourage participatory governance by way of feedback and creates an enabling environment to encourage foreign investment’’.

    “The collaboration will ensure that key research, industry policies and innovations are effectively communicated.

    “It will also ensure that critical data are generated and made accessible for policy makers, private sector actors, stakeholders and the general public,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Usman as saying.

    The Lead Partner of BudgIT, Mr Oluseun Onigbinde, said NPA was the first revenue generating government agency to make its budget public.

    He said the Management of the NPA would not regret keying into the programme.

    Onigbinde said the collaboration, apart from promoting probity, transparency and accountability, would also restore government and public confidence in the Management of NPA.

     

  • NPA insists on dollarisation of port transactions

    The Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Friday insisted on dollarisation of transactions and urged terminal operators to pay up to date.

    The Managing Director of NPA, Ms Hadiza Usman, stated this at a Stakeholders meeting in Lagos to round off her two-day tour of the Western ports in Lagos.

    She said that the dollar regime had been in operation before she assumed office in July and would still remain until a change is considered.

    “I know these are trying times for everybody but as partners, NPA relies on you to meet its statutory and corporate obligations.

    “From inception in 2006, the concession terms of payment is in dollar and it will amount to subversion of norms to change the goal post mid-way.

    “I feel for you, knowing the difficulty in garnering forex with the turbulent dollar to naira regime,’’ the News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) quotes Usman as saying.

    She urged stakeholders to think out of the box and ensure that the Federal Government royalties were paid as and when due to avoid sanctions.

    Some of the stakeholders, who appealed for a downward review of the tariff regime demanded that they should be considered to pay in naira.

    They further asked that NPA should make it a priority to ensure security within and around the ports, the water fronts and provision of facilities.

    The General Manager, Eko Support Services Lt., Mr Sani Edu, said that with the current tariff regime, Nigerian ports were not competitive.

    “In comparism to other ports in the West African sub-region, the Nigerian port is the most expensive.

    “That gives the neighbouring ports of Cotonou and Lome the edge because investors are free to choose where to invest their money,’’ NAN quotes Edu as saying.

    Mr Marshall Bombe of GMT Ltd, reminded the port management of the existing international shipping tariffs standard which also applied to Nigeria.

    “The volume of vessels sailing into Nigerian ports has declined from 30,000 to 10,000 in the recent past as a result of the unfavourable business environment,’’ Bombe said.

    Mr Pius Odobum of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) urged NPA to let the public know the status of Lilypond Terminal.

    According to him, freight forwarders whose cargoes were assigned to the terminal were having difficulties in clearing them as the place has become moribund.

    In her response to the plea, the NPA managing director said that her maiden recent tour of the ports had afforded her the opportunity of knowing the plights of operators.

    She said that henceforth the authority would liaise with other agencies at the ports for a Single Window operational pack to ease transactions.

    “This is the first time NPA is having a female managing director in 61 years and we intend to use the opportunity to improve the scheme of things,’’ Usman said.

  • Publish NPA’s audited account, ministry’s official tells Usman

    Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director (MD) Ms. Hadiza Usman has been handed her first assignment by a top Federal Ministry of Finance (FMoF) official: She should publish NPA’s audited account from 2012 to date.

    The publication, said the officials who pleaded not to be named, has become imperative because of what he called a compromise in the revenue due to the government through NPA during the period.

    The audit, he said, should cover capital, personnel and overhead expenditure to enable the government block some leakages.

    He urged Usman to justify her appointment by plugging all loopholes while embarking on programmes that will make the ports more efficient,

    The official alleged that the NPA under-declared its revenue and failed to remit a sizeable percentage of its operating surplus to the government’s coffer.

    The amount accruable to the NPA between 2012 and 2015, through the Lagos pilotage district, he said, was $2,706,352,445 and N32, 427,537,176.

    In 2011, he said, NPA remitted N29 billion into the Federation Account, making it the highest remittance in its history.

    He said Usman should ensure that the NPA, like other government agencies, did not short-change the government in its efforts to generate more revenue.

    Usman, the official said, must also work with professionals to  boost operations and generate more funds.

    He alleged that the NPA does not have enough personnel to monitor activities at the ports, especially those of shipping companies and service providers.

    The official also accused the NPA of institutional weakness bordering on lack of a coherent policy framework on port administration, noting that most of the countries in West Africa are building ports that can berth vessels with capacity for 14,000 containers.

    He described the 2006 port concession as a bold move to reposition the NPA and make it competitive.

    The Usman management team, the official said, must adopt measures that would lead to the payment of accurate pilotage service fee to the NPA, adding that before the former Managing Director, Mallam Habib Abdullahi, was removed the eight tug boats in Lagos Pilotage District were not functional, thereby leading to revenue loss.

    He urged Usman to fix the boats and end illegal movement of ships around Lagos ports.

    According to him, there were lapses in the payment of the pilotage fees in the past because the fees, according to him, were paid in dollars and based on the gross tonnage (GT) of the ships calling at the ports.

    The expenses for the transportation of the pilot, using pilot boat and other  means of transport, he said, were included in the fee.

    “NPA does not have enough manpower and personnel to monitor activities within the ports, especially the activities of the shipping companies.

    “Many of the operators are aware that the tug boats are not working  and they are banking on the lapses of the NPA to short-change the government, especially in the area of pilotage fee and annual remittances to pay to the agency.

    “NPA offices are outside the terminals and the agreement says that they must be there to monitor activities of the terminals operators and the shipping companies. Because they are not there, that is why it is easy for them to short-changing the NPA from what they are paying to it in terms of tonnage and remittance,” he said.

    He alleged that some government officials at the ports were conniving with the shipping companies to short-change the government in the revenue due to it by declaring incorrect dead weight tonnage of vessels.

    The official said: “A dead weight tonnage (DWT) of a vessel is a measure of how much mass a ship is carrying or can safely carry. Therefore, it is an important determinant of how much they pay to NPA in terms of services rendered to them and the three per cent gross freight rate NIMASA collects

    “There is need for the MD to put in place measure that will be able to determine the exact dead weight tonnage of each vessel coming to the ports. For now, the NPA does not have such measure. The only thing they do is to estimate the value and that can be manipulated over and over. Any official can short-change the government by giving any figure which is not accurate and under pay the government.

    “We need transparency to get the exact dead weight tonnage of every ship coming to the ports.”

  • New NPA MD pledges improved revenue

    New NPA MD pledges improved revenue

    The new Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Usman, has said that the new management will strive for enhanced operational efficiency for improved revenue generation and inflows into national treasury.

    Usman stated this at the handover ceremony between her and the former Managing Director of NPA, Malam Habib Abdullahi, on Monday in Lagos.

    According to her, our ports are the critical arteries of the economy and it is our duty to ensure that the operators deliver ports services in line with the standards deserved in the 21st century.

    She said that the new management would support President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda of economic diversity.

    “We will listen to our customers, importers and exporters and other agencies working in the ports to improve on our service delivery to the nation.

    “Anything less than the world class services is simply not acceptable. Attaining such height is the mission to which we can all subscribe to.

    “As a team leader, I have come to add my best efforts to yours so that we can collectively achieve result for our industry.

    “We must work as a team, pursuing common goals with professionalism and diligence,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Usman as saying.

    She added that the new management would prioritise investments in primary equipment and infrastructure and services with commitment to fulfilling NPA’s concession agreement to hasten clearance of imports and exports from the ports.

    She noted that collectively, the hard work of staffs could position NPA as a modern agency.

    “To function as regulator, all of us at NPA must be committed to the highest standards of performance. Let us uphold the most diligent work ethics in our individual beats as well as collective undertaking to achieve result.

    “Everyone at the NPA has a role in promoting best practices in upholding good governance, standards and delivering quality services.

    “We would jointly work hard with integrity and zero-tolerance for corruption.

    As the new management settles, we would be listening to your concerns and suggestions as we navigate the best options for effectively discharging the NPA’s mandate.

    “I hope and I believe we would jointly work together as one family to achieve our mandate,’’ NAN quotes Usman as saying.

    In his speech, Abdullahi said that since July 2012, when the management came on board, it recorded modest achievements.

    He said that NPA under his leadership was able to achieve automation of operational processes, infrastructural development, Greenfield and Brown field developments and building a strong port community system.

    Abdullahi explained that the outgoing management also built strong human resources through training and re-training.

    In five years’ time, more than 50 per cent of the top managers will be out and presently they are on the average 55 years old. These are from senior managers to general managers and this is quite challenging.

    He urged the new management to come up with succession scheme to ensure that the younger ones take over “because you are going to miss the experience of the older ones’’.

    Abdullahi said that his administration was proud of putting in place the Command, Control and Intelligence Unit, adding that the administration also installed the e-payment system.

    He added that his administration automated the payment systems to create room for transparency.

    “We also automated the Ship Entry Notice to create room for transparency,’’ NAN quotes him as saying.

    The former managing director said that his administration integrated NPA’s operations with other stakeholders like the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to serve a s platform to block all revenue leakages.

    “We also dredged and maintained the water channels for smooth navigation. The deeper the channels, the bigger the vessels that will come in.

    “Nearly 60 per cent of our revenue goes into dredging and we tries as much as possible to buy tug boats,’’ NAN quotes Abdullahi as saying.

    He said that there had been improved port operations and cargo throughput As well as deepening of the port channels.

    Abdullahi said that “Nigeria is the only port in West Africa receiving big WAFMAX vessels.’’

    According to him, we have improved wreck removal operations as well as human and vehicular traffic and we made available 24-hour operations at the ports.

    He said that his administration moved toward encouraging non-oil exports to see how Nigeria could explore the possibilities of exports.

    Abdullahi recalled that NPA management sent a letter to the Ministry of Solid Minerals to explore the possibility of exporting solid minerals.

    “Over 80 per cent of containers that leave this country leave empty.

    “NPA is partnering with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council to ensure the containers does not leave empty.

    “With the new set of management, I am sure you will come up with fresh ideas that will move the industry further,’’ he said

  • Buhari appoints Hadiza Usman as NPA boss

    Buhari appoints Hadiza Usman as NPA boss

    The Federal Government on Tuesday appointed Ms Hadiza Usman as Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

    The information is contained in a statement signed by the Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Yetunde Sonaike in Abuja.

    Sonaike stated that others appointed were Mohammed Bello-Koko as Executive Director, Finance; Prof. Idris Abubakar, Executive Director Engineering; Dr Sekonte Davies as Executive Director, Marine Operations.

    She noted that Usman was born on Jan. 2, 1976 in Zaria, Kaduna State and has a B.Sc. Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU),

    Zaria and a Post Graduate in Development Studies from University of Leeds, UK in 2009.

    She worked at Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) from July 2000 to August 2004 as Enterprise Officer and hired by the UNDP for the Federal

    Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) from October 2004 to January 2008 as Special Assistant to the Minister on Project Implementation.

    The new NPA boss, Sonaike added, worked as Director of Strategy of Good Governance Group, a Non-Governmental Organisation from

    2011 to July 2015 and appointed as Chief of Staff to Gov. Ahmed El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State, a position she held until the present appointment.