The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ports

  • Ports: Which monopoly?

    I was at a dinner last week when a reputable journalist shared a local Nigerian adage that succinctly captures the state of those who have appropriated to themselves some power founded on shallow knowledge of the reality: “The man that travels far tends to know more than the man who lives long”.

    The import of this adage is that the number of years one spends on earth does not necessarily bestow significant knowledge. Yes, with age comes experience, but not necessarily knowledge. On the contrary, the man that travels far is likely to know more about the world than the man who has lived long in one place.  This is the reality of those who have found a new career path in misrepresenting the truth about INTELS Nigeria Limited and its operations in Nigeria. They do this without stepping a foot on the geographical exploits of the company to at least, have a first-hand understanding of the value the company is adding to the Nigerian economy.  But the more they talk, the more manifest the baselessness of their argument.

    It is quite unfortunate to see that a country that is acutely challenged economically is engulfed in unnecessary economic in-fighting. Whilst the government at the federal level appears to be pushing efforts to support businesses and stimulate growth that will generate employment, some individuals are tirelessly strategizing to make the business climate unfriendly for reasons best known to them and their cohorts.

    Until I visited the Onne office of INTELS, Rivers State, I was completely indifferent about this ongoing media campaign against INTELS. The major theme of this smear campaign has been about breaking the monopoly of INTELS. Before I delve into what I saw on ground at Onne, let me briefly expound on this unending chorus about monopoly, which does not exist anyway. Let us for the purpose of argument admit that INTELS is monopolising the oil and gas services business in Nigeria; if that is done legally, how is it a problem when there are unrestricted opportunities within the same industry for other investors to explore?

    To the best of my knowledge, the Nigerian economy is largely a free market economy that allows free entry and exit. The oil and gas services sector is no different from the other sectors of the economy in that regard; all that is required is for the intending company to meet all the necessary requirements. And in a competitive environment, if a business entity is able to present superior business model to the government and obtains the support of the government, how is that a problem?

    Some individuals with kindergarten information talk about INTELS as if the company started operations in Nigeria 30 days ago, when it has actually been in the country for 35 years. This is a company that commenced business in a completely swampy land with just one container as office space. Today, that one container business has grown into a major employer of labour and the rallying point of hope for the Onne community. Now, if a company that started with one container in this country has grown and obtained the status of a major investor in the oil and gas services sector in 35 years, how then can that be categorised as a monopoly?  These investors saw opportunities where some people only saw swamp and monkeys; they saw possibilities when others were complaining; daring enough to borrow and invest when others were escaping the country, yet we accuse the company of running a monopoly. Instead, I believe it is the ingenuity of the people behind the company that is actually louder than their voice. On the contrary, the voices of those that lack the same ingenuity have been louder than their contribution to the Nigerian economy.

    Now let us take a look at INTELS and the oil and gas services industry in Nigeria. INTELS is an integrated logistics facilities and services company. The company services the oil majors and also runs port management services as a concessionaire of the federal government. The company operates in this sector with other companies like Brawal and Julius Berger. And the Nigerian government has not made any law to close entry into this sector of the economy for intending investors, which presupposes that it is a free market that allows investors to blossom in proportion to their ingenuity and business dexterity. If INTELS truly operates with other top companies like Julius Berger in the same sector, then the company definitely cannot qualify as a monopoly. It only shows how committed and loyal the company is to the Nigerian state by committing huge investments into the economy. It is sheer mischief to impugn that there is a monopoly in an industry where the paymasters of mischief peddlers earn their living.

    Contrary to the deliberate manipulation of sacred facts by some, INTELS is a highly reputable Nigerian company that is adding tremendous and significant value to the Nigerian oil and gas value chain, and helping to retain value that could have been lost to other countries through provision of world class logistics services, constituting about 30 per cent of the value of oil and gas cargo. Every activity of the company is carried out with a commitment to meeting and surpassing international best practices. A visit to the Onne Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone managed by INTELS will completely blow every discerning mind. There is hardly any service in the oil and gas services sector that cannot be provided by INTELS. In fact, without the Onne Free Trade Zone and INTELS’ One Stop Shop Service concept which helps in the optimisation of time, space, and resources by oil companies, oil production cost in Nigeria would have been higher than what it currently is.

    Beyond the business exploits of the company, INTELS’ relationship with its host community is highly impressive. For a company that has operated in the Niger Delta for 35 years yet does not have a single demonstration against its activities deserves a grand applause. And the reason is not far-fetched. This is a company that invests extensively in its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) obligations to the community with visible and impactful results to show. Just a visit to the Women Empowerment Project Scheme Synergy (WEPSS) Centre, will provide an idea of the impact of this company in Onne and environs. The scheme provides 18 weeks of intensive training in cloth making for young women completely free of charge. In addition, the trainees are provided stipends in the course of their programme; and some of them are also awarded starter packs at the end of the training to start their personal businesses. So far, the scheme has trained 700 women, some of whom have been employed by the company, with others advancing in their personal business. The more fascinating angle to this is that WEPSS produces all the work wear worn by technical workers at the Onne Free Trade Zone.

    In actual fact, the success of INTELS is the model and pillar of privatisation in the Nigeria’s maritime industry. Perceptive minds should be happy that this model is working and advocate for the replication of same in other sectors of the economy. It is rather unfortunate that some people in high places and government circles, for their political expediencies, have become willing tools in the hands of competitors to give credence to this campaign clothed in untoward falsehood. INTELS is evidently one of the highest employers of labour in Nigeria with proven and sterling track record that is there for all to see. It is not one of those companies that are more visible in the media than the real business sector.

    The oil and gas business sector is capital intensive and requires huge funding for business excellence. Those who can dare the challenge should source for funds and invest the way INELS has done. If any individual or business truly believes in the Nigerian project as they claim, then invest huge money in the country. That is the only way to display your faith in the country, and not by running a campaign of calumny against an entity that believes in this country. Nigeria is big enough to accommodate every willing investor.

    Let everyone compete squarely and do so fairly without spreading lies about the other companies. Spreading lies is not fairness and definitely not a proven business strategy; it is simply what it is – a campaign of calumny! Let us support our economy by supporting the businesses that are doing well; collaboration is actually more beneficial.

     

    • Goodluck writes from Lagos.

  • Firm urges govt to bridge infrastructure gap at ports 

    To achieve the objectives of the Executive Order on Ease of Doing Business, the Federal Government should bridge the infrastructure gap in the maritime sector, SIFAX Group Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Taiwo Afolabi, has said.

    At the yearly Maritime Conference organised by his firm at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Afolabi said: “The huge infrastructural deficit, which led to deplorable access roads, faulty cargo scanner, non-existent rail system, non-functional truck bay, among others, has conspired to negatively impact service delivery efficiency.

    “These challenges are the major reasons we gathered today to address because our sector cannot continue to reel under the burden of infrastructural decay if we want to contribute meaningfully to the economy and realise the industry’s potential.

    “I commed the effort of the Federal Government to reform the maritime industry, especially with the Executive Order signed by the Acting President.

    “It is an acknowledgment of the fact that things must be done differently. However, infrastructural deficit will negate the good intentions of the government if the problems listed above are not strategically and urgently addressed.”

    He said that one of the key objectives of the conference was to promote the culture of intellectual discourse in the country’s maritime industry, adding that the engagement will  also be solution-oriented.

    According to him, the conference was created to address the issues affecting the industry, with support of stakeholders, such as clearing agents, shippers, investors, workers as well as the entire maritime community.

    He said the International Maritme Organisation(IMO) had compelled the United Nations affiliate responsible for the regulating the global maritime industry, saying that over 90 per cent of world’s trade was transported by sea.

    Afolabi, however, said the industry was strategic to maritime nation in terms of its contribution to its economic growth and development.

    He said the contributions of the sector to the country’s Gross domestic Product (GDP) was still low when juxtaposed with its huge potential and opportunities.

    Chairperson of the occasion, Mrs Margaret Onyema-Orakusi,  praised Afolabi for organising the event.

    Mrs Onyema-Orakusi, also the Chairman of Ship Owners Forum, said maritime business has some  challenges, adding that there was the need to create technological solution to the problems.

    “Maritime is a professional industry  that accommodates different occupations; that is why we need to accommodate other departments to enable them find solutions to the problems.

    “I am asking Dr Afolabi to expand the conference to accommodate other departments to understand maritime operators’ need and stove problem of accessing laon in the maritime industry,” Mrs Onyema-Orakusi said.

    Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director, Ms Hadiza Usman,  commended the SIFAX  for the contributions the conference had made in the industry.

    Ms Usman, represented by Assistant General Manager, Business Desk, said she had also created  awareness on the importance of the industry in the economy.

    She commeded Afolabi for his resourcefulness in improving the business in the ports despite of the recent downturn.

  • Cost of monopoly at Nigerian ports

    In 2006, President Olusegun Obasanjo carried out a concession exercise to save the ports from total collapse. The concession was conceived to break the monopoly of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, increase efficiency of the ports through promoting competition on level playing fields; decrease cost of port services to users and also reduce the cost of support of the port sector to the government and to attract foreign direct investment, FDI.

    The post-concession era had hardly taken off when NPA brought a storm to bear on the smooth sail of the vessels. Without any official pronouncement or change in the agreement between government and concessionaires, NPA began to divert vessels carrying a class of cargo known as General Cargo to Intels terminal at Onne, Rivers State. This was irrespective of the importers’ port of preference for the discharge of their cargo.

    These cargoes which include pipes, steel pipes, dismantled rigs and so on were classified by NPA as ‘oil and gas cargo’, a nebulous term that was neither in the concession agreement nor in maritime lexicon anywhere in the world. Obasanjo could not understand where this impunity sprang from. Having set up a panel to investigate this odious arrangement, he suspended Intels, one of the concessionaires, from Nigerian ports after its indictment by the panel.

    The oil and gas cargo invention made another stormy appearance on November 7, 2007 under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and without any government policy supporting this resort to private monopoly, the Minister of State 2, for Transport, Prince John Okechukwu Emeka issued a directive that all ‘oil and gas cargo’ should be routed through the oil and gas cargo terminal in Onne. The ‘oil and gas terminal’ was a strange cook up to Yar’Adua as it was to the concessionaires whose businesses were beginning to emaciate fast. Miffed by this impunity, Yar’Adua fired the minister after the infamy of compelling him to reverse his directive on the pages of national newspapers.

    It is important to note that Yar’Adua’s family held shares in Intels. But after a critical examination of the huge negative impact of Prince Emeka’s directive which was crippling the maritime sector and driving investors out of Nigeria, Yar’Adua had no choice but to reverse the directive and sack the minister, a clear statement in patriotism.

    The death of Yar’Adua again saw the irrepressible oil and gas cargo issue loom even larger than ever. Once again a letter with the reference number EP/AGM/OPTS/034 dated March 18, 2013 from NPA and another dated November 8, 2013 from the Ministry of Transport ordered all vessels carrying ‘oil and gas cargo’ to be diverted to Intels terminal.

    From now on, the battle to exterminate the siege of the oil and gas cargo cabal and end private monopoly in Nigerian ports would rage and simmer for some years to come. Battles were fought in court and from the House of Representatives to the Senate, with committees of the National Assembly cancelling one another under extraneous influences.

    The cost of these battles is almost incalculable. Between November 15, 2007 and August 8, 2008, an estimated US$150 million was lost to neighbouring countries and about US$3.8 billion in the next eight years.

    The Board of Schlumberger, an oil and gas multi-national company which approved US$125 million investment into a new facility in Lagos moved the investment to Ghana after learning of the compulsory diversion of oil and gas cargo bearing vessels to Onne.

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Femi Atoyebi, a lawyer to Ports and Terminals Operators Limited, PTOL, in a paper presented before the Senate on the occasion of the Public Hearing on the Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Authority Act (OGEFZA) to Provide for the Designation and Establishment of Oil and Gas Free Zone and Special Investment Areas and Related Matters, captured the huge costs the concessionaires paid and were likely to lose due to monopoly. In his words, “the terms, tenure and amounts of the yearly lease ranged from US$1.25 million to US$10 million and later up to US$12 million”. Some of the concessionaires, having lost the most lucrative cargo, which is General Cargo that includes pipes, dismantled rigs and so on, now dubbed oil and gas cargo, could not continue with their businesses after seven years while many struggled and could not meet their financial obligations to government in terms of lease, throughput fees and taxes. Indeed the government is said to have lost well over US$2.1 billion by the beginning of 2017 in lease, throughput fees and taxes.

    The Managing Director of PTOL, Mrs Lizzie Ovbude, a fierce opponent of monopoly at the ports and a resilient advocate of the concession agreement lost three vessels carrying her cargo to the monopolistic directive in quick succession. Due to the diversion of these vessels, MV Kota Berlain, MV Kota Bakti, and Cosco Jing Gang Shan among others, her company lost millions of dollars.

    A lawyer, with focus on maritime stated unequivocally that “Nigeria’s economy must have suffered a loss of over US$7 billion due to the monopoly squabbles at the ports”. Expatiating, he argued that the colossal loss of revenues to neighbouring countries, the massive losses due to stunted investment and development of the ports and terminals, leakages, tax evasion and shedding of employees due to skeletal finances, all these he affirmed were far more than the estimated US$7 billion the government must have lost due to the heinous activities of the oil and gas cargo syndicate.

    Continuing, he added that “government is paying one concessionaire US$5.2 billion which it claims is “reimbursement” for construction of facilities at Onne, Warri and Calabar. My worry about such claims is that there have never been any reputable Quantity Surveyors to independently verify these claims and I guess too, that there is no Engineering, Procurement and Construction, EPC, or similar agreement between the concessionaire and NPA, to make auditing of the construction possible. So there are no checks and balances. And despite having their money refunded with interest in dollars, this concessionaire will still have exclusive use of the facility for 25 years. Quite hard to believe that this is happening in Nigeria in this age”, he lamented.

    Another maritime close observer adds that the role of NPA and government at the ports defeats and indeed perverts the whole essence of the concession. “How, for instance, can the tariff regime not be regulated”, he asked.

    “The concessionaires clearly negotiated with the government and agreed on a flat tariff regime to ensure a level playing field. How is it that the same government now allowed one company to charge much higher tariff? Why is it that while 25 concessionaires charge US$7.40 dollars per tonne for discharge and loading of cargo and pay US$1.12 to the government, one single company and a concessionaire like others, that is Intels, charges US$65 per tonne and pays US$5.8 to NPA? This simply defeats the whole idea of reducing cost of doing business at the ports, one of the cardinal reasons for the concession. And that was why a lot of our importers turned to neigbhouring countries. So it becomes penny wise, pound foolish”, he concluded

    This was the cloudy situation at the ports when on April 27, 2015, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan gave the unintelligible directive that legitimized monopoly. Jonathan’s directive signed by a certain Engineer David Omonibeke, Executive Director, Marine and Operations, requested that all oil and gas related cargo must be handled only at the designated terminals at Onne, Warri and Calabar, three terminals operated exclusively by Intels. The same directive also instructed LADOL Integrated Free Logistics Zone Enterprise to relocate its US$500 million fabrication and integrated yards in Apapa, Lagos, South West Nigeria, to Agge in Bayelsa State. It was one directive that instantly put at risk over US$5 billion projects, 70,000 jobs and further cast an ominous cloud over Nigerian Content, a revolutionary edict that had attracted over US$5 billion investment in Nigeria’s petroleum industry since its signing in 2010, with a projection of another US$10 billion by 2016.

    Buhari’s recent counter directive that restored the concession agreement of 2006, saved Nigeria from an avoidable home-grown economic catastrophe.

     

    • Tare-Johnson writes from Port Harcourt.
  • NIMASA DG: how African ports can compete globally

    NIMASA DG: how African ports can compete globally

    The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and

    Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, has listed conditions that will change ports on the African continent to be globally competitive.

    The conditions, according to Peterside, are investment in world class infrastructure, strengthen Regulatory Frameworks, enhance institutional cooperation, implementation of one-stop portals like the national single window and adequate Investment in human capital.

    Peterside spoke while delivering a paper on the Significance of Maritime Regulations and Competitiveness of African Ports at the conference on Port Development, which took place in Accra, Ghana.

    The conference was organised by International Quality and Productivity Centre in conjunction with Ghana Ports and habour Authority.

    In his words “African Ports have fallen far behind our global peers on key performance indicators. Cargo spends nearly three weeks on average in Sub-Saharan African ports, compared to less than a week in large ports in Europe, Latin America and Asia. We are below the global average on three key productivity measures of ports: gross moves per hour, berth moves per hour and man-hours per move”.

    He noted that for Port operations on the African continent to experience appreciable improvement, Agencies in the port community must work together to implement integrated and sustainable solutions to the identified challenges.

    The NIMASA DG restated the agency’s commitment to strengthening the capacity of Ports in Nigeria and enable competitiveness on the African continent via the effective implementation of the Merchant Shipping Act, NIMASA and the Cabotage Act by ensuring that regulating the maritime sector with the use of these instruments does not hinder efficiency and negatively affect business operations in the Ports.

    He said NIMASA has upgraded its surveillance system to 24 hours and can consequently monitor all vessels in the Nigerian Maritime Domain at all times. He also disclosed that the integration of the Agency’s system with the Nigerian Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) was part of efforts to forge partnership with key industry stakeholders to enhance efficiency in the Nigerian maritime sector.

    “Security is essential for seafarers, ships and port facilities; the Federal Government recently approved a $186 million Integrated Waterways Surveillance and maritime security initiative which is to be run jointly with Nigerian navy and Marine Police and the Army with the sole objective of operationally eliminating piracy and criminality on our waterways,” he said.

  • A nation’s economy and her ports

    SIR: Nigeria is generally known as a mono-economic nation .This is in spite of the varied sources of revenue but underutilized natural resources available in the country, including the nation’s ports.

    Besides underutilizing the nation’s waters and ports, the government has done very little to appreciate the importance of the economic development        of the country. For instance, virtually all the sea ports in the South-south have become moribund and disused: from Koko, Sapele, Burutu and indeed the Warri ports, nothing seems to be working due to government poor understanding of the roles the nations’ ports are expected to play in achieving maximum raking in of forex.

    Unfortunately, with its poor facilities, the ports in Tin-can Island and Apapa, have become the overburdened. While these ports can as well be developed into deep water ports, the government has no reason to improve on the facilities and the dredging of the channels to achieve a deepwater port status. The Niger Delta water channels have long been abandoned and the recent over–praised programme of dredging that portion of the Nigeria waters seems to have been swallowed by the media hoax.

    Now, the situation has led to preventing large vessels from berthing in these ports. They are however dogged with what is commonly referred to as ‘tug boats ’and small ships. This has also led to an ever increasing volume of losses to investors. The federal government has not helped matters with her unfriendly business policies in the ports. Possibly things will improve with the new Executive Orders aimed at government liberalization of activities in the Lagos axis. Most ports operating nations have an average of four days free of demurrage and several charges for the duration of berthing and off loading. Nigeria allows only two days for the same services unlike in Holland and other European seaport nations. This no doubt reduces the volume of traffic in the nation’s port thereby depleting the level of revenue accruing to the country.

    The longer time a visiting ship spends in our ports, the greater its losses through ubiquitous charges and the higher its emissions of local and global pollutants into our environment.

    The poor management of the nation’s water ways had greatly contributed to the underutilization of the Delta Steel Company Limited, Ovwian/Aladja before the place finally went under. The government has deliberately ignored calls for the dredging of the Escravos bar to expand maritime business opportunities. The story has not changed.

    The nation’s ports are the gate ways to international trade and as such could be regarded as the engine room and the fulcrum on which a nation’s economic life revolves. Indeed, the ports are the accelerator of a nation’s economic development. More of Nigeria’s area is covered by waters. It covers about 366,376 sq km of the nations’ compact area of 923,768sq km.

    A port becomes an active wheel of the growth of a nation’s economy only if it is managed inefficiently. Undoubtedly, the functions of a port is not only limited to the traditional activities but has expanded to a logistical platform.

    Basically, the desire of the federal government to diversify the economy in the absence of working port system is an exercise in futility.

    Recently, Nigeria is to export about one million tonnes of yam tubers from across the country. One begins to wonder how effective the movement of these goods will be done using only the ports in the Lagos axis. The government needs to go into partnership with state governments with maximum maritime environment on the rehabilitation of the nations’ ports in Calabar, Warri, Port-Harcourt and Burutu while engaging in the building of deep seaports in states such as Bayelsa State and Akwa-Ibom state.

    How long will the Nigerian government continue to waste the nations’ resources as a result of the negligence suffered by the maritime environment? Time to effect positive changes in the development of the nations’ waterways is now.

     

    • Akporhobo Tataunu,

    akporhobota26@gmail.com

  • Season of ports’ strike

    Season of ports’ strike

    For three days last week, business activities at the nation’s sea ports were paralysed by strike. After the intervention of stakeholders in the maritime sector, the protesters issued a fresh 21-day ultimatum to the government to address the issues leading to the deplorable condition of the roads to the ports, Maritime Correspondent OLUWAKEMI DAUDA reports.

    Business activities at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) and the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos were brought to a halt between last Monday and Wednesday, as clearing agents and truck drivers embarked on strike over the deplorable state of the roads leading to the ports.

     

    Why the strike

    The protesters said they were frustrated by the state of the major roads leading to the ports. For instance, the President of the Senior Staff Association of Communication, Transportation and Cooperation (SSACTAC) Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) branch, Comrade Benson Adegbeyeni, accused the Federal Government of paying lip service to port infrastructure. He wondered why the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, has chosen to neglect the seaports, which generate the highest revenue, next to the oil and gas sector.

    Adegbeyeni lamented that the road leading to Apapa Port and Tin Can Island Port has been an eyesore for a sector that generates so much revenue for the government. He wondered why the goose that laid the golden egg had been left unattended to for several years.

     

    Groups involved in the strike

    The groups that participated in the protest include the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Corporate Fleet Owners and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), among others.

     

    Emergency visit of NPA  chief

    to Apapa

    The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, abandoned all other engagements to visit the Tin Can Island Port and the Lagos Port Complex to assess the deplorable condition of the roads leading to the Lagos ports and the impact the strike would have on the economy of the nation.

    During the visit, the  NPA team  inspected the failed sections of the roads at Tin Can Island and Coconut axis of the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway and expressed serious concern.

     

    NPA agrees to fix Apapa roads

    with N4b

    At an enlarged meeting, Ms Usman and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Mr. Hassan Belli,  held  with the protesting stakeholders, Ms Usman said the NPA was ready to spend over N4 billion to fix Apapa roads and bring the situation under control.

    She agreed that the deplorable state of Apapa roads was hampering access to the Lagos seaports and affecting businesses around the area. She lamented that the poor access roads to the seaports were adversely affecting the delivery of cargoes to importers, thus killing the trade facilitation programme of the government.

    The NPA, she said, was not happy that several measures hitherto adopted had not translated into quick cargo movement in and out of the ports.

    She assured the protesting agents and other stakeholders that the NPA would soon address the problem in the interest of all and the economy. Ms. Usman said the quick rehabilitation of the road remained a priority to her team to reposition the ports and salvage the economy.

    She said the NPA is collaborating with Dangote Group and Flour Mills to reduce the gridlock in Apapa.

    Her words: “The roads are under the purview of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. We have held several meetings with the ministry and we have come to an agreement that the NPA will jointly fund the reconstruction of these roads.

    “The ministry will be submitting to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting to seek council’s approval to embark on the reconstruction of Wharf road.

    “We believe that these roads are priority to us. So, we have identified budgetary heads for them and we are going to budget for them in spite of the fact that they are not under our purview. So, we are commencing with that. The NPA will provide funding for that road in conjunction with the two bodies.”

    She assured that the reconstruction work would be carried out within 10 months.

    According to her, the width of the roads would be 12 metres with full utilities deployed and will have a life span of 30 years when completed.

    “It is going to be a concrete road that will have a lifespan of 30 years. The project will commence within this month. We are going to sign an agreement with the Federal Ministry of Works, Dangote and Flour mills on the implementation of the project and they have confirmed that the reconstruction will be embarked upon for 10 months period so we believe that this wharf road will be able to reach conclusion within this year,” Ms Usman said.

     

     Shippers Council reacts

    Mr. Bello corroborated the NPA’s position and lent his voice to a trucking policy that would set standards and regulations.

    According to him, between 5,000 and 7,000 trucks ply the Apapa corridor daily, when the roads could only support between 2,000 and 3,000 trucks. The remaining numbers, he said, constitute nuisance by causing the dilapidation and gridlock in the area.

    The NSC boss called for the immediate repair of all the failed sections of the road, registration of trucks coming to Apapa under a company name, installation of electronic gate system and call-up cards and the need to institute a sound legal framework.

     

    Loading bay

    Another way out of the problem, according to stakeholders, is the construction of loading bay or parking lots for trucks coming into the ports to pick consignments or drop empty containers.

    It is on record that most of the trucks that park along the port access roads such as Wharf, Commercial and Creek Roads are laden with empty containers. Many of the drivers of such trucks use the roads leading to the port for parking their vehicles, thereby putting pressure on the road and reducing the space meant for other road users.

     

    Agents, others urge Osinbajo to

    visit the port

    Speaking with The Nation after the stakeholders’ meeting with the NPA and NSC Executives, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) urged the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo to lead other members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to visit the Lagos seaports and see how bad the roads are.

    Some Apapa residents, motorists and other protesting stakeholders  said the visit would enable the Federal Government to assess the state of the Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports.

    Among the stakeholders are members of the Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN), who asked the government to fix the roads and reduce users’ suffering.

    The group said it was no longer news that the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway and the Ijora/Apapa road were deplorable and begging for attention.

    The group’s Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, Dare Ajiboye, said the roads posed danger to life and also have negative effects on trade and commerce.

     

    Stakeholders’ expectations

    ANLCA said it was not happy Mr  Fashola did not attend to the roads in the last two years, despite being the immediate past governor of the state.

    They wondered why it was difficult for successive ministers of Works to fix the roads, despite that the Federal Government, through the NPA, earned several millions of dollars yearly, from the ports.

    “About months ago, a journalist covering the maritime beat was killed on the road leading to Apapa port by a hopeless truck driver. The sudden death and other vices on the road would have been averted if the Federal Ministry of Works headed by Fashola has been alive to its responsibility of fixing the most dangerous roads leading to the seaports.

    Shittu urged the Federal Government to rehabilitate the roads and resolve other challenges to make the ports more attractive and competitive.

    Fashola as a former governor of Lagos State, Shittu said, should tell Lagosians what the Federal Government intends to do over the pathetic condition of the roads.

     

    Colossal losses

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), it was learnt, lost over N5billion at Lagos port to the three strikes. Also, terminal operators, shipping companies and other government agencies at all the ports, it was gathered, lost several billions of naira to the strikes.

    A senior Customs officer, who craved anonymity, told The Nation that Apapa and Tin-Can Customs generate over N1 billion,  daily from the ports. He said this excludes what the NPA, NIMASA, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Shippers Council and other agencies make.

    ANLCA spokesman, Dr. Kayode Farinto, while speaking with The Nation on the poor state of the roads, said the stakeholders have given the Federal Government a  fresh 21-day ultimatum to address the situation or risk the ports being shut down in protest.

     

     

    Way forward

    The Chairman, Seaport Terminal Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Victoria Haastrup, said on several occasions that the bad roads and the gridlock being experienced in Apapa, were caused by system failure in the oil and gas industry logistics chain.

    Haastrup, who is also the Executive Vice Chairman of ENL Consortium Limited, operators of Terminals C and D, Lagos Port Complex Apapa, said the only way to solve the gridlock is to immediately suspend the lifting of imported petroleum products from tank farms in Apapa by road.

    “There must be immediate suspension of the evacuation of petroleum products from Apapa by road. The authorities must immediately activate the use of barges for petroleum products evacuation. Petroleum products meant for the northern part of the country should be moved to Lokoja and Baro Ports by barges while the trucks collect them from there rather than coming to Apapa,” she said.

     

    Indiscipline

    For port users, another way to tackle the gridlock is to address motorists indiscipline on the roads, especially drivers of old vehicles. One of them, Segun Adewale said because of the indiscipline and unruly behaviour of the drivers, all lanes on both sides of the roads are occupied. “The truck drivers are the kings of the roads. They do not bother about any other road user,” he said.

    He also observed that drivers use the roads as makeshift toilet facilities. They also drive against the traffic and cross the  embankment separating the two lanes of the roads at will. Apart from being an eyesore, he said the sorry situation gives the country a negative image.

    “We all know the challenge facing the ports’ roads and we believe that the government is also aware that this is not only affecting the operations of the port and residents in Lagos, but the entire economy.

    “We hope that the Federal Government will do its best not to turn this period to the season of strike and protest at ports as another 21-day ultimatum has been given to the government,” he said.

  • For competitive, efficient ports

    For competitive, efficient ports

    The aim of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) under the leadership of Ms Hadiza Bala Usman is to make the ports the hub of maritime trade in Africa, Correspondent OLUWAKEMI DAUDA writes.

    Since President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) managing director, she has not left anyone in doubt about her plans to boost its efficiency.

    At a meeting with stakeholders, Ms. Usman reiterated the agency’s commitment to making the seaports competitive by promoting efficiency and transparency.

    Her team, she said, was not happy that the seaports might lose its comparative advantage in terms of cost and others to neighbouring countries’ ports, especially in quick cargo clearance. Hence, the reason the authority considered it imperative to ensure that terminal operators and government agencies at the ports key into the efficient port services system of the Federal Government.

    The managing director’s message and body language on the matter were clear: “The management has discovered that inefficiency in the procedures and operations of agencies and service providers and even users was undermining Nigeria’s competitive advantage in international trade and we are set to correct that to make the ports attractive for business, and generate more revenue to the government.

    Though the objective to bring efficiency to the ports seems tall and unrealistic because of the situation in the port before her appointment,  sources at the Federal Ministry of Transportation said the Federal Government impressed it on the management of NPA to elevate the  seaports to a hub status through zero tolerance for corruption, inefficiency, among others.

    Ms Usman said NPA would review the concession agreement the agency signed in 2006 with the private terminal operators to correct all the grey areas  in the deal, make the port a hub in the West and Central African sub-region.

    Many importers, clearing agents, operators and port users have lauded the plan, noting that it would revolutionise cargo clearance procedures.

    One of the stakeholders, Mr .Segun Ogunsanu, said the initiative would reduce the time and cost of doing business at the ports. “It would also reduce tension, stress and worries and, if supported by the Federal Government and other agencies at ports, would reduce the volume of trucks on the roads and the number of overtime cargoes in the port,” he added.

    An  importer, Mr. Patrick Ebenezer, described the move as “a robust maverick touch by the Managing Director of NPA Ms  Usman”.

    Ebenezer, who condemned the high level of delay in port operation, commended NPA and its management for bringing the issue of single window platform, transparency and efficiency and zero tolerance for corruption at the ports to the front burner as part of their efforts to make Nigerian ports  leader in Africa.

    “Whether or not the model operated in any port is a tool port or a landlord model like that of NPA, the overall objective of any port is to be efficient and to render quality service to port users,’’ Ebenezer  said.

     

    Why ports were concessioned

    The Federal Government took the decision to concession the ports to address the problems of inefficiency, corruption, mismanagement, and huge debts.

     

    What has changed?

    A senior official of the Federal Ministry of Finance believes that a lot had changed at the ports since they were concessioned.

    The official, who declined to have his name in print, said the NPA management  had been running the ports efficiently. He said, for instance, that the Authority generated $140 million in 2005 before the concession and over $450 million from the Lagos Ports last year.

    The government, he said, concessioned the ports to generate more revenue and allow for greater flexibility, efficiency and better services to importers and other port users by resolving some of the major challenges hindering smooth port operations.

    Hear him: “As a direct impact of these investments, the ports have witnessed increased ship traffic and throughput, which has led to a 400 per cent rise in container throughput from 400,000 TEUs in 2006 to 1.6 million TEUs in 2014.

    “The investments have also led to the eradication of ship waiting time at the container terminals, as ships now berth on arrival.

    ‘’The official also said that vessel turnaround time has been reduced from five days to 41 hours while average dwell time for cargo clearance went from over 30 days to just 14 days.

    ‘’In addition, due to improved security and lighting of the terminals, the ports now run 24-hours (daily) and seven days-a-week operations.

    “There have also been some major investments made by the NPA on behalf of the government to increase traffic at the ports. Most laudable is the dredging of the channel from nine million to 13.5 million water depth.’’

    The official further said the NPA invested in the provision of larger tug boats to service shipping companies. This led to larger ships calling, particularly at the Lagos port and Tin Can port, thereby increasing the throughput.

    “The NPA has been a positive partner in the concession process but there still exists opportunities to further optimise the existing Lagos port infrastructure to meet medium term needs of the sector,” the official said.

     

    Need to review

    concession agreement

    However, to enhance the ease of doing business in ports in line with international best practices, NPA  is pushing for a review of the 10-year-old port concession.

    Many stakeholders have also called for a review of the concession to accommodate aspects, which are not working with the objectives. According to them, a review would remove conflicts and allow both the NPA and the operators to fulfill the agreement.

    To keep to its promise of boosting efficiency and reduce corruption, the management of the NPA is to acquire new tug boats with state-of-the-art, computerised engines, to meet the increasing demands of critical stakeholders, in the port industry.

     

    Functions of a port

    The most common mode of transport in international trade is sea transport. This is based on the huge number of cargoes that are transported on sea. Findings reveal that there are more than 2,000 seaports around the world, from the ones with a single berth location handling a few hundred tonnes of cargo yearly to huge facilities handling about 300 million tonnes of cargo yearly.

    When a port becomes more competitive, its ability to attract cargo will improve. This will increase the revenue and better utilisation of the port’s facility and infrastructure.

     

    Board and management

    This is the first time the board and  management of the Authority would come out in one voice to say that seaport infrastructure must be developed to meet international standard to boost efficiency at the port.

    Efficiency, the authority said, is a critical factor for handling of goods in the international supply chains, and is viewed to impact transportation and logistics, which play an important role in trade exchange with other countries.

    NPA Board Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Olajide Adesoye, said they had evaluated the operational efficiency of the seaports to reflect their status and reveal their position in the competitive environment.

    According to him, knowing the impacts of efficiency of seaports on the supply chain is vital for business survival.

    He said: “Seaports have been considered to be important elements in international supply chains. They hold a very important role and are the most critical nodes in the supply chain. It is widely believed that seaports form a vital link in the overall trading chain. Seaports are a component of freight distribution as they offer a maritime to land interface for cross-border businesses.Therefore, efficiency of seaport operation is vital for supply chains in our country and beyond.”

    Adesoye emphasised the need to improve seaport operational efficiency, and indicated which areas should be given more attention

    Three different areas, he said, had been identified as a new framework of measuring performance of seaports. They are trade channel, logistics channel and supply chain channel.

     

    Making the ports efficient

    One way the management of the NPA is making the ports efficient and easing the processes of importation and exportation for business environment is the strategic adoption and institution of electronic transactions.

    The authority has introduced an online payment platform called the Electronic Ship Entry Notice better known as “e-SEN” for shipping lines and agents to ease business transactions and help reduce ship dwell time.

    Usman said the online payment platform has cut off unnecessary delay associated with ship arrivals and their dwell time at the ports, as well as ensure a quicker cargo clearance system.

    Shipping companies in Nigeria have also described the e-SEN as a major step by the management of the NPA in checking corrupt tendencies at the seaports.

    The electronic devise replaces the obsolete manual system which is said to be corruption-laden.

     

    Synergy with other agencies

    To ensure improvement in operational efficiency in the ports, NPA is now effectively interfacing with other agencies. It has introduced a National Single Window Project to domicile all operations, including those of the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies, into a single platform to boost efficiency.

     

    Tariffs put on website

    Under Usman, NPA publishes tariffs on its website for easy access by the operators, importers and the public.

     

    Engagement of professionals

    There is a purposeful engagement of maritime professionals by the NPA in most of its activities to make the ports more attractive for business.

     

    Transport cost

    Importers and clearing agents say transport cost contributes between 35 and 40 per cent of the landed cost of goods. A clearing agent at the Lagos port Dr Kayode Farinto listed extortion at entry and exit points, low service level, delays, uncertainty and strong bureaucracy as factors militating against the trade facilitation programme of the government.

    “The new management of the NPA knows that port practices and efficiency in port operations can have a significant if not a huge positive effect on stakeholders at sea ports and that is why they are hammering on efficiency,” he said

     

    Benefits of an efficient port

    One benefit of the government is increased revenue. When the port is more efficient, it will attract more cargo. The increased revenue realised from the duties and fees payable on the cargoes and ships will be a plus for the government.

    Since the port is not an isolated industry but a community of actors, a better positioned port will create other service firms within the industry; this will attract increased private sector participation.

    The people will be able to see a better price on goods since the present price of most import or import related goods are influenced by the cost incurred during the inward movement of cargo.

    The cost of doing business will be reduced since the costing method would change allowing for a more customer and service costing policy. Costs will also reduce for the freight forwarders and inland transport operators like trucking companies and they will be able to give a better price to customers.

    Delays experienced by cargo owners and other port users will be greatly minimised. This will increase the time it takes for them to get their goods to the market place.

    The quality of service perception will change and the port users will enjoy a moreuser friendly port and the advantages associated with it like ease in conducting business with the port. Predictability of port processes will allow port users to be able to optimise their processes like transportation.

    Cost will also reduce for importers who have to go through neighbouring countries’ ports due to the inefficiency experienced at ports in the country.

  • Policeman ‘shoots’ truck owner at Lagos ports

    Activities were disrupted at the Tin-Can Island Port Complex yesterday after a yet-to-be identified police officer shot a truck owner simply identified as Alhaji Dan Jos.

    The officer, it was learnt, is attached to the RORO Division of the police.

    Members of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Tin Can Chapter are demanding that the officer should face the law.

    According to an eyewitness, the officer shot Dan Jos for challenging him for urinating on a truck parked in the garage

    He was said to have invited his colleagues who provided him the gun he used to shoot Dan Jos.

    “The police officer was urinating on one of our trucks when Alhaji challenged him, it later led to an altercation and he called his colleagues from the division who came and shot Alhaji at the thigh.”

    The RTEAN chapter Chairman, Isiaka Olalere, said: “I have just been told now that one of my members has been shot by a police officer. I am going to the garage to put everything under control.”

    Contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Maritime Command, Sadik Olatunde, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said he was not aware of the crisis.

    He, however, promised to get across to the Divisional Police Officer to put things under control.”

  • Over 100,000 tons of fertilizer raw materials arrive Lagos ports

    Over 100,000 tons of fertilizer raw materials arrive Lagos ports

    The bilateral agreement entered into by President Muhammadu Buhari and the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, on massive production of fertilizers in the country has started yielding positive results, investigation has revealed.

    When The Nation visited the Lagos ports yesterday, over 100,000 tons  of imported  raw materials from Morocco were found at the various terminals at the Tin-Can Island and Lagos Port Complex. They were also being off loaded from ships and transported to various blending plants across the country.

    It was also discovered that seven out of the 13 blending plant have started operation and 13,000 metric tons  have been produced and supplied to agro dealers  in Jigawa and Kebbi states. More states would soon be supplied, it was gathered.

    Farmers in the country, it was gathered, should be expecting bumper harvest in this farming season as one million metric tons of raw materials to produce the fertilizer start to arrive the ports.

    Sources at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture said it was part of the initiatives of the Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association (FEPSAN), led by Mr Thomas Etuh.

    Etuh, a source said, had been working with the Federal Government on how to make fertilizer available and affordable in the country.

    The urea  raw material,  it was learnt, is being transported from the Indorama plant in Portharcourt to the blending plants in other states to get the finished product.

    Some of the basic ingredients of the fertilizer, the official said, include limestone granules which have have started leaving Okpella in Edo State and Kaduna for the blending plants

  • How to rid ports of wrecks, by Customs chief

    How to rid ports of wrecks, by Customs chief

    WHAT can be done to the abandoned vessels littering the Lagos shoreline maritime trade? This is the puzzle a senior Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) official  wants unravelled.

    According to him, the vessels’ owners must be fished out and prosecutedto make the waters safe.

    The NCS official, who asked not to be named, said the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) should be responsible for clearing the vessels.

    It was learnt that some vessels behind Tin-Can Port are bad and could  sink if not removed soon.

    Investigation revealed that over 30 vessels  must be removed because of  the danger they pose to Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports.

    Lagos being a littoral state, and the commercial hub of the country, has attracted more  vessels than any other port in the sub-region. Weak laws, difficulties with vessel owners, limited jurisdictions and lack of funds, it was learnt, hampered past  efforts to remove them.

    The Customs official said the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, should direct NPA and NIMASA to engage professionals who will assist in fishing out the   vessels owners to enable the government pursue claims against them for ecological damage.

    The official said: “Shipwrecks and abandoned vessels on the nation’s waters provide hideouts for criminals. For instance, abandoned vessels have constituted a base for pirates, sea robbers and miscreants to attack legitimate vessel operators and fishing trawlers. This has posed a threat to other vessels, maritime trade and investment worth of several billions of dollars. In the past, fishing trawlers lost about N25 billion to piracy.

    “All vessels plying the nation’s water ways are supposed to be registered with NIMASA so that owners of abandoned and wrecked ships can be contacted in times of need.

    ‘’There are reports that some vessels come into the waters without the knowledge of NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy. If the allegation is true, it means that such vessel owners do not observe international best practices, and the agencies must find appropriate means of sanctioning them,” the Customs official said.

    A maritime lawyer, Mr Benjamin Adedayo, described the ugly phenomenon as a reflection of the indiscipline, poor administration and lack of commitment to international obligations. He admitted that Lagos was vulnerable to shipwrecks and abandoned vessels because its coastline is situated west of the entrance of the ports.

    Investigations also revealed that most of the abandoned vessels neither have legal documents, nor are registered with NIMASA, hence, the reason the agency could not trace most of the owners.

    “Past government’s efforts aimed at addressing the issue and solving the problem have been feeble because of the overlapping functions by the Federal Government agencies involved in the removal of the ships. For instance, there was a disagreement between the management of the three key parastatals in the Federal Ministry of Transport – NIMASA, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the National Inland Waterways Authority on how to address the issue.

    “The former Minister of Transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, inaugurated the Committee on Wrecks Removal from Nigerian Waterways and Channels. The committee had Mr Bola Olowosejeje as Secretary and representatives of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigerian Navy, Lagos State government, Federal Ministry of Justice, NPA, NIMASA and Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) as members.

    “The committee was to audit the wrecks and abandoned vessels on territorial waters and make the necessary arrangement for their removal and disposal. The committee, which had four weeks to complete its assignment, was also required to organise the disposal of all residual metals in a transparent manner, as well as advise the Federal Government on ways to minimise the littering of the waterways with wrecks, derelicts, and abandoned vessels. Areas of jurisdiction were clearly defined as a way of fast-tracking the evacuation.

    “But the establishment of the committee did not really provide the much needed relief to Lagosians,” Adedayo said.

    The General Manager, Public Affairs of NPA, Chief Michael Ajayi, said the authority had made significant progress in removing most of the wrecks on the Lagos channels that were assigned to it under the arrangement. According to him, 100 per cent of the job has been done by NPA.

    He listed the evacuation of a big vessel from the Commodore Pool channel as one of NPA’s major achievements. The vessel had been buried in the sea bed for years and was a barrier to navigation, preventing bigger ships from entering the Tin-Can Port.

    The spokesman of Ilado community in Lagos, Mr Seyi Agbato, listed some of the problems they are facing because of the abandoned vessels.

    “There is a cumulative effect whereby sand accumulation by one ship adds to the other, resulting in the incursion of water as the wrecked ships are very close to each other. The recurring abandonment of vessels on the Lagos water has resulted in the erosion of choice beach lands, including coastal plants like coconut trees on the beaches. Lagos loses billions of naira to these erosions, accelerated by the shipwrecks and abandoned vessels, as strong waves can remove over one metre of land within 24 hours,” Agbato said.