The Nigeria Ports Authority(NPA) on Friday said it was fully prepared to handle the increase in the volume of cargoes that would result from the ban of imported vehicles through land borders.
Ms Hadiza Usman, NPA`s Managing Director, expressed the organisation`s readiness during a visit to the headquarters of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) in Lagos.
She said the right facilities had been put in place at the various ports to absorb the anticipated cargo surge, adding that all terminal operators were ready to take up the challenge.
The Federal Government had banned the importation of vehicles through the land borders with effect from Jan. 1, 2017.
The Senate, on Wednesday, however, frowned at the ban and called on the Customs Service to immediately suspend further action on the policy.
Usman described the ban on imported vehicles through land borders as a step in the right direction, saying it would impact positively on the economy through improved revenue.
“Our operators are very much ready to take on additional cargoes that would come following the restriction of imported vehicles through the land borders.
“The Nigerian ports are ready to take on the expected increased traffic. We believe the ban is a step in the right direction because we feel there is a need for us to enhance and sustain importation and earn more revenue,“ she said.
The Managing Director said that the organisation had taken steps to make the Nigerian ports user-friendly in order to gain back the traffic lost to neighbouring ports.
She said a study was being conducted by NPA to look at the competitiveness of Nigerian ports vis-à-vis ports in neighbouring countries in terms of tariff regime, turn-around time, among others.
Usman said that the findings of the study would determine whether the NPA would recommend to the government to bring down duties to attract traffic.
The Managing Director said the rehabilitation of port access roads was a top priority of the organisation, explaining that NPA had been interacting with the Federal Ministry of Works to achieve that.
She said the purpose of her visit to NAGAFF headquarters was part of on-going efforts to constantly interact with critical stakeholders with a view to improving things at the port.
Usman thanked the association for receiving her, assuring that her organisation would do all it could to attend to their operational problems at the ports.
Earlier, the founder of NAGAFF, Chief Boniface Aniebonam, commended the interventionist strides of Usman since she assumed office as Head of NPA last year.
He, however, urged her to interface more closely with NAGAFF and other stakeholders in order to understand their issues at the ports and proffer solutions.
“We are behind you in your efforts to improve things at the ports. We believe in you and we will work with to ensure you succeed in your assignment,“ Aniebonam said.
He described the ban on vehicle importation through land borders as good for the country, saying apart from improving revenue, it would help boost activities at the ports.(NAN)
