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  • Defect in ports’ facilities hampering operations at ports, says NPA MD

    Defect in ports’ facilities hampering operations at ports, says NPA MD

    The Managing Director of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, has said the defects in the facilities at the nation’s ports were hampering efficiency and productivity.

    Bello-Koko said the defects included the quay wall, replacement of old gravity walls, and the rehabilitation of Escravos breakwaters.

    The NPA boss said this while defending this year’s budget of the agency before the House of Representatives Committee on Ports and Harbours.

    He said the NPA was projecting about N629.89 billion revenue and looking for a N200 billion loan from Afrexime Bank and the United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF).

    According to him, the total projected expenditure is N464.32 billion, while the operating expenses are put at N212.03 billion, with the capital expenditure put at N252.29 billion.

    Bello-Koko explained that part of the main thrust of this year’s budget of the NPA was the urgent need to rehabilitate, reconstruct, and moderate the dilapidated port infrastructure.

    The NPA boss said it was aimed at improving port efficiency and increasing cargo traffic through investment funding from UKEF and Afriexim.

    Read Also: NPA workers threaten to shut port over 50% IGR deduction

    Committee Chairman Nnolin Nnaji said the NPA was important to the country.

    The committee chairman explained that the committee needed to visit some of the facilities outside Lagos for first-hand assessment.

    “We need to see those things you are telling us. The House of Representatives is very serious about budget defense, while they do screening on the other side. Budget defense is here,” he said.

    Nnaji hailed Bello-Koko for his budget lucid presentation, saying: “I believe that in the subsequent budgets, the MD would do better. We accept this budget, and we will move further with it.”

    The committee chairman noted that the ports’ channels were full of wreckage.

    He expressed worry about a lack of information on wreckage removal at the facilities.

    Nnaji stressed that as long as the NPA avoided the wreckage, it would keep occurring because of the abandoned ships in the water channels.

    He urged the NPA to do something about the issue.

  • Defects in facilities affecting operations at ports, says NPA MD

    Defects in facilities affecting operations at ports, says NPA MD

    Managing Director of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, said on Thursday, March 21, that the defects in the facilities at the nation’s ports were hampering efficiency and productivity in the ports.

    Koko said the defects at the port include the Quay Wall, the replacement of old gravity walls, and the rehabilitation of Escravos breakwaters.

    Koko, who spoke while defending the 2024 budget of the agency said the NPA, is projecting about N629.89 billion in revenue in 2024 while looking for a N200 billion loan from Afrexime Bank and the United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF).

    According to him, the total projected expenditure is N464.32 billion, while the operating expenses are projected at N212.03 billion, and the capital expenditure stands at N252.29 billion.

    He said part of the main thrust of the 2024 budget of the NPA is the urgent need to rehabilitate, reconstruct, and moderate the dilapidated port infrastructure.

    He added that it was aimed at improving port efficiency and increasing cargo traffic through investment funding from the financiers, UKEF and Afriexim.

    Rep. Nnolin Nnaji, the Chairman of the Committee, said the agency is much dared to the country, adding that the committee needed to visit some of the facilities outside Lagos.

    He said: “We need to see those things you are telling us. The House of Representatives is very serious about budget defence, while they do screening on the other side. Budget defence is here.”

    Read Also: NPA workers threaten to shut port over 50% IGR deduction

    He commended the MD for the budget presentation, saying,” I believe in the subsequent budget, the MD would do better, “We accept this budget, and we will move further with it.

    The committee also said the drainage channels were full of wreckage, expressing worry over a lack of information on wreckage removal.

    The committee said as long as the NPA avoids the wreckage, it will keep occurring because of the abandoned ships, urging the NPA to look into it.

  • NPA workers threaten to shut port over 50% IGR deduction

    NPA workers threaten to shut port over 50% IGR deduction

    Senior and junior workers of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) yesterday issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to reverse the presidential directive on automatic deduction of 50 per cent from its internally generated revenue (IGR) or they would shut the ports.

    This was contained in a letter signed by the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporation and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC) and Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN).

    In the letter, the workers sought urgent reversal of the policy, insisting that if not curtailed, it would lead to irreversible industrial action and closure of the business at the ports.

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    The letter reads in part: “We wish to reiterate our position as stated in our letter reference above thus:

    “The NPA, as the employer of workers who are our members, is self-funded and receives zero allocation from the government budget. This means that it needs to retain most, if not all, of the funds it generates in order to be able to continue to effectively discharge its duties, which include constant dredging of our Port; regular maintenance of our Quay aprons; maintenance of Ports, Jetties, and Terminals; manpower development and discharge of corporate social responsibilities (CSR).

    “Without prejudice to the intentions behind the formation of policies to raise revenue for the Federal Government, it must be said that it is not advisable to introduce extractive policies to self-funding specialised entities as they will be subjected to unnecessary hardship and avoidable disruption of processes due to the revenue disruptions.’’

  • Respite as Lagos govt, NPA dislodge trailer drivers on Tin-Can, Mile 2 road

    Respite as Lagos govt, NPA dislodge trailer drivers on Tin-Can, Mile 2 road

    The perennial traffic gridlock between Mile 2 and the Tin Can Island Port on Oshodi/Apapa Expressway in Lagos State has disappeared, The Nation can confirm.

    The huge relief follows a joint operation embarked upon by the government and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) last Monday.

    Stakeholders who spoke with The Nation applauded the government and NPA for a job well done. They called for a sustainability of the joint exercise to ensure the gridlock does not return.

    Investigations revealed that motorists and commercial bus drivers now enjoy unlimited access to the Tin Can and Apapa ports from Oshodi.

    Secretary of the Lagos State Truck and Cargo Operators Committee (LASTCOC) Sanni Bala thanked the NPA and government for successfully opening the Tin-Can express road to boost businesses at the port. “NPA and Lagos State have successfully broke that jinx that makes opening of Tincan port access road look herculean. Opening Tin-Can Port access road would promote free flow of traffic, seamless evacuation of cargo, trade facilitation and ease of doing business.

    “It is our hope and prayer that the road clearance operation would be continuous to prevent re-grouping and return of extortion bandits taking advantage of gridlock to extort truckers and burgle containers in transit,” Bala said.

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    Manager of the Lagos Port Complex Manager and Chairman, Eto Project Implementation Committee, Charles Okaga, had spoken of plans by NPA and Lagos State to dislodge articulated trucks and all extortion points from the Mile 2/Tin Can Port access road.

    He said the NPA is worried that months after rehabilitation and completion of the road project, port users and motorist cannot access the port directly except by driving against traffic because of the indiscriminate parking.

    Okaga berated the activities of non-state actors and confirmed the readiness of the NPA to collaborate with the

    He said: “We have collaborated with the Lagos State government, we did some clearance of shanties and areas obstructing port movement last week on the Apapa area to Ijora side, we are moving to Mile 2 area to Tin Can Island Port by next week.

    “In the advocacy efforts in encouraging people to comply and conform, the first thing is to provide the right environment for business to thrive. If you cannot drive freely in and out of the ports, businesses cannot thrive. The pressure on the Apapa-Ijora axis is as a result of the activities of the non-state actors along the Mile 2- Tin Can axis, there are more than 20 points that trucks and truckers are meant to part with money before getting into the port.

    “In a bid to avoid these things, both Tin Can bound trucks and Apapa bound trucks now ply the Ijora corridor to reduce cost of access.”

    “Right now, there are rehabilitation works on the bridge, so the volume of traffic and pressure has increased, and because of this, there is more pains.”

  • NPA plans $1b reconstruction of Tincan, Onne ports, others

    NPA plans $1b reconstruction of Tincan, Onne ports, others

    • Apapa, Warri, Calabar also listed

    A massive reconstruction plan of major ports – Tincan Island, Apapa,  Onne, Warri and Calabar – is to be undertaken by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

    The project is estimated to cost $1 billion.

    Also to be built are: Badagry Deep Seaport, Snake Island, Burutu and Ondo Deep Seaports.

    Other initiatives on the card towards enhancing port competitiveness are the emplacements of the Port Community System (PCS) and the National Single Window.

    The NPA management said it was poised to transform the Authority’s strategic intent of being the maritime logistics hub for sustainable port services in Africa from potential to actualities.

    The proposals are contained in a document, titled: “Consolidation of superior performance at the Nigerian Ports Authority 2023-A synopsis of the Authority’s performance improvement 2022-2023.”

    According to the document, the NPA management said despite global economic headwinds that characterized the year 2023, the Managing Director, Mohammed Bello Koko succeeded in leapfrogging Nigeria’s foremost trade facilitation platform to surpass its 2022 performance.

    It said the implementation of performance improvement measures resulted in unprecedented revenue generation and remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), with revenues steadily growing from N361bn in 2022 to N501bn as of December 2023.

    According to the management, remittances increased from N93.4 billion in 2022 to N131.2 billion by year end 2023.

    The document also captured taxes paid to the Government of the Federation, which according to it, grew at various times in the period under review totaling the sum of USD$77.7 million and N17.6 billion respectively.

    The document added that the NPA contributed to the deepening of Nigeria’s balance of trade through the promotion of exports of especially non-oiI export in response to the national exigency of strengthening the Naira.

    The management said that in order to create new businesses and promote multi-modalism in line with global best practice as prescribed by the International Association for Ports and Harbours (IAPH), the NPA initiated Barge Operations services which, apart from reducing pressure on the roads, had grown into a N2-billion annual generation business both from direct investment and accompanying externalities.

    According to management, “Movement of cargo by barge has greatly enhanced port-hinterland connectivity as evidenced by the meteoric rise in numbers from a total of 80,244 TEUs in 2022, which by 2023 had grown to 118,046 TEUs.”

    The management added: “The NPA during the  period under review licensed ten (10) Export Processing Terminals to facilitate exports at Nigerian Sea Ports.

    “This move which provided a one-stop shop for export processing where quality control, cargo assessment and statutory checks by all government agencies were carried out was geared towards eliminating bureaucracy and attendant delays that hitherto undermined the competitiveness of Nigerian Exports in the International market place.

    “The resultant effect of this initiative, was a quantum leap in the numbers of Nigerian export-laden containers from One Hundred and Fifty-Six Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety (156,790) Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in 2022, to Two Hundred and Twenty-Six Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty-Six (226,456) TEUs in 2023.”

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    Besides, the NPA said it had also grown the number of ship calls sequel to the consistent dredging of channels, installation of bouys and improved security at the ports’ channels.

    It said the number of ship calls grew from One Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety-Seven (1,997) vessels in 2022 to Two Thousand, One Hundred and Seventy-Nine (2,179) vessels by the end of 2023. 

    It explained that the Lekki Deep Sea Port, which doubles as Nigeria’s first fully automated port at take-off, processed Six Thousand and Seventy-Six (6,076) TEUs of transshipment cargo.

    This, it explained, represented a swift move that signposted the NPA’s readiness to cater to the maritime needs of Nigeria’s landlocked neighboring countries, and “win back cargo hitherto lost to our maritime neighbours.”

    The NPA management stated further: “To maximize the distinctive advantage of economies of scale that the Lekki Deep Seaport with its capacity to berth super post panamax vessels, the Authority in 2023 acquired and deployed two units of first-of-its-kind in Africa Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) 8213 model 80 Ton Bollard Pull Tugboats to enable the berthing of very large vessels of 300 metres LOA and above.”

  • NPA/ GTCO Lagos Int’l Polo Tournament

    NPA/ GTCO Lagos Int’l Polo Tournament

    • Feverish pitch as battles begin  for Governor’s Cup, Heritage Trophy

    The ongoing Lagos polo tournament commemorating the 120th  anniversary of the sport in the former nation’s capital city,  has been a fusion of the noble game of kings and  rich cultural heritage of the cosmopolitan city with the Governor’s Cup and the Heritage Cup taking centre stage.

    For more than a century and counting, the prestigious Lagos international polo tournament has been a blue ribbon festival in Africa providing a perfect platform for showcasing some of the world’s finest foreign polo players and their Nigerian counterparts.

    The anniversary’ special day  offers two glittering trophies with a well-laid out photo gallery of past president of Nigeria, royalties from Nigeria and abroad, business tycoons and top echelon of the society who have been part of the polo carnival over the century.

    Read Also: NPA/ GTCO Lagos Int’l Polo Tourney

    Performance by the Lagos State Art Council and other traditional entertainment were the other highlights of the day of the glamorous fiesta that is revered as the biggest polo event in Africa.

     On the playing turf , Sheyi Oyinola wrote his  name in gold as he  led  the trio of Mayowa Ogunnisi, Lalu Agoro, Timi Badiru and Baba Dantata in Team Lagos 1974 colours to  brushed past Team Lagos 2010 to clinch the coveted Governor’s Cup.

    Team Lagos 1904 boasting youngsters like Tayo Ojora, Adebayo Karim, Osaro Omoruyi and Mohammed Dangote were the other top flyers of the second week, sailing past their Team Lagos 1962 opponents to win the Lagos Heritage Cup  to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the State of Aquatic Splendour.

    Before the 120th anniversary show stopper, four more proud champions  had already emerged in the international polo fiesta that featured a total of 39 teams vying for  four major trophies including the Majekodunmi Cup, The Open Cup, Lagos Low Cup and the Silver Cup  among other subsidiary cup categories.

    Defending Majekodunmi Cup and champions, Lagos Leighton Kings made good their pre- tournament ratings edging arch rivals Art Hotel Shoreline  in a gusty final game to retain the event’s biggest prize which is also the oldest polo cup in Nigeria.

    The Independence Cup donated in 1914 by the then German Ambassador to be competed for by high-goal teams from Nigeria and Cameroon.

    Art Hotel Shoreline team mounted by Bashir Dantata (Jnr.) and Tunde Karim that finished runners up in the Majek and Independence cups respectively,  had earlier enjoyed podium celebration after outpacing the visiting Abuja Rubicon team to win the Italian Ambassador’s Cup.

    Other top performers so far include the Trojan Art teams that swept past three other opposition to clinch the Lagos Open Cup, Lagos STL team who emerged champions in the race for the Oba of Lagos Cup and Dangote-Kaduna Sublime team, winners of Dapo Ojora Cup played in the everlasting memory of the late Nigerian polo legend and Captain of Lagos Polo Club.

    The grand finale fourth and final week of the annual fiesta will see a crowd of equally matched low-goal team slugging it out for the Silver Cup between February 13 and 18.

    For another year running, the prestigious festival hosted a renowned and faithful collection of sponsors with GTCO leading others like Arbico, Vueve Clicquot, ChapelHill Denem, BUA, Metro Capital, MTN, among others.

  • NPA, Customs to boost govt’s economic diversification agenda

    NPA, Customs to boost govt’s economic diversification agenda

    The management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have pledged to work together to boost the economic diversification agenda of the Federal Government by deepening trade facilitation and drive exports.

    The leadership of the two agencies made the pledge yesterday when the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi led members of his management team to NPA’s headquarters in Lagos.

    Speaking at the occasion, the Managing Director of NPA, Mohammed Belo-Koko said there is a need to streamline export desks to make facilitation of cargoes onboard vessels seamless.

    The NPA boss, however, frowned at situation where Export Processing Terminals (EPTs) are still reporting to export desk at the seaports.

    “We have raised the issue of export. We have seen a tremendous increase in percentage and quantity of export cargo and we appreciate that but, we still have a little problem because we have an issue of multiple export desks.

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    “The first time we met, I raised the need to find a way to collaborate and collapse the export desks at the ports so that an exporter will report to that export desk where you have the combined desk. That way, it will be easier to facilitate export cargoes instead of multiple desks that currently existed,” he said.

    Speaking further, Bello-Koko, urged the Customs CG to include the authority as part of agencies of government that would benefit from the proceeds of auctioning of overtime cargoes at the ports.

    He said the authority expended huge funds in moving the overtime cargoes from the seaports to the Ikorodu terminal.

    “On the issue of overtime cargo, the committee was set up where Nigerian Customs led and an assessment has been done. Everyone has gone round the port and we know the impact of overtime cargo on the activities of terminal operators. It has occupied a lot of economic space and it’s creating difficulty in clearing cargo because there isn’t space. The ports are very small, however, the auction has actually started, the bid has started and the overtime containers have been moved to some locations but in our initial discussions, we have asked that all the money Nigerian Ports Authority spends should also be considered.

    “We have moved cargo to Ikorodu and we are also going to be involved in other expenditures. But, we saw a circular where somebody who was instructed did not do what exactly what  he was instructed. They forgot to put NPA as one of the agencies of government that will benefit from the auction proceeds. I believe that you can stop them to correct that mistake because we have really spent a lot of money when it comes to overtime cargo.

    “If we are able to do that we also believe that it should also be made a regular thing whether it’s quarterly or once a year but let it be something that we don’t need to wait for 10 or five years before overtime containers are moved out of the seaports. I am so happy to see that containers have already started leaving the terminals to locations where they will be auctioned. That showed that you are listening,” he stated

    In his response, Adeniyi said the visit to NPA was to renew friendship and deepens existing relationship and collaboration.

    According to him, the vision of NPA to ensure port efficiency would help the service facilitate trade and regain lost cargoes to neighboring countries’ ports.

    “This visit is more of vision alignment because since NPA desires to achieve port efficiency, we believe in Customs that port efficiency would help to facilitate trade and also, NPA through all these programs is trying to promote the competitiveness of our ports this aligns with our vision because Nigerians are diverting their cargoes to neighboring ports and we must do everything to ensure that our ports remain competitive.

    “The Nigerian economy is driven by our ports and finally we want to make our ports more efficient because when the ports are more efficient it would translate into better efforts in revenue generation so anything and everything that would help to reduce the time and the costs are what we would be exploring,” he said, adding “if we go through all of these areas that have been mentioned they all speak to ensuring that we have better ports, more efficient ports, more competitive ports that speaks to our needs.”

  • NPA eyes over N600b revenue this year

    NPA eyes over N600b revenue this year

    The Nigerian Ports Authority is targeting over N600 billion this year, The Nation learnt at the weekend.

    For the first time, the agency’s revenue generation peaked at the close of business on December 31, last year.

    It was gathered that the NPA has made moves to meet this year’s target, given the preparedness of its Managing Director, Mohammed Bello-Koko, who is said to have increased the agency’s revenue collection and surpassed the 2023 annual target.

    The management of the agency, it was also gathered, has promised to improve operational efficiency of the ports and increase its cargo throughput to meet this year’s target.

    A senior official of the Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMoT) who spoke in confidence, told our correspondent that Koko brought an unprecedented revenue generation to NPA and increased its contribution to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federal Government last year.

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    “The NPA is planning to generate N600 billion this year through improved turn-round time of vessels; improved dwell-time of cargo in ports; improved provision and maintenance of port terminal infrastructure; deepening of port channels and berth draughts to handle the reception of bigger vessel in our ports, installation of navigational systems; and improved towage and pilotage services to ships.

    The NPA, the senior FMoT official added, has “improved vehicle and human traffic management in ports; availability of 24-hour operations in ports; training of officers and staff, high level of human capacity and development through robust training programmes, among others, to generate the money”.

    The NPA reportedly generated N191.4 billion revenue in the first half of 2023 and generated over N200 billion in the second half of last year.

    Bello-Koko told reporters last year that despite the global economic crisis, NPA’s revenue generation was improving.

    “Our current growth trajectory is encouraging in the context of global economic upheavals which have affected trade volumes in all climes,” he said.

    The NPA boss said the smart policy thrust of the Federal Government, which was already boosting growth, further lent credence to the feasibility of the agency’s projections.

    “The operationalisation of Lekki Deep Seaport, expected restoration of the service boat management contract, digitalisation and intensified tightening of collections mechanisms buoy our confidence at meeting and, indeed, exceeding the revenue projections,” Bello-Koko added.

  • BREAKING: Tinubu appoints six new Executive Directors for NPA, NIMASA

    BREAKING: Tinubu appoints six new Executive Directors for NPA, NIMASA

    President Bola Tinubu has appointed six new Executive Directors for two agencies under the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy; Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

    The new appointments, three for each of the agencies, were made public Thursday evening, in a statement issued by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.

    According to the statement, “President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of new Executive Directors in two (2) agencies under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy:

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    “Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA): Ms. Vivian C. Richard Edet — Executive Director, Finance & Administration; Engr. Olalekan Badmus — Executive Director, Marine & Operations; and Engr. Ibrahim Abba Umar — Executive Director, Engineering & Technical Services.

    “Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA); Mr. Jibril Abba — Executive Director, Maritime Labour & Cabotage Services; Mr. Chudi Offodile — Executive Director, Finance & Administration; and Engr. Fatai Taye Adeyemi — Executive Director, Operations.

    “The President approves these appointments with the firm belief, after studying their impressive profiles, that the new appointees will expeditiously and efficiently execute on their collective mandate to create the conditions required to significantly raise the contribution of the Marine & Blue Economy sector to the nation’s GDP while evolving the Nigerian economy into a labour-intensive and inclusive one that creates new opportunity for all Nigerians in accordance with the Renewed Hope Agenda, under the able guidance of the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, H.E. Adegboyega Oyetola.”

  • NPA busts fake electronic call-up syndicate at Lagos port

    NPA busts fake electronic call-up syndicate at Lagos port

    The management of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has busted a ring of electronic syndicate, who specialised in using fake vehicle number plates and stickers to sabotage its Electronic Truck Traffic Management (e- Call-Up) system, also known as “eto”, in entering the Lagos ports illegally.

    The illegal activities of the unpatriotic elements, it was gathered, were discovered when the officials and security agents of the NPA undertook a spot check of the MPS Pregate and made a mind boggling discovery of 249 fake vehicle number plates and 149 units of Minimum Safety Standard (MSS) stickers trying to enter the port.

    Further checks of the terminal led to a discovery of another 164 pieces of vehicle number plates and 133 pieces of MSS stickers that are not fixed on any truck in readiness to be deployed for proxy booking.

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    The fake number plates and MSS tickets were immediately confiscated and the terminal manager invited for questioning.

    This development validates the authority’s position on the existence of a deliberate and well-orchestrated effort to undermine the electronic call-up system, which was initiated by the NPA to eliminate human interface in managing traffic in and out of the ports as a measure of sustainably taming the menace of gridlock hurting the national economy.

    The Managing Director of NPA, Muhammed Bello Koko, said the authority was resolute in consolidating the e-call up project and its other process automation initiatives, in order to end gridlock along the port access road, grow the maritime sector to its full potential and generate more revenue for the government.