As part of implementation of the six point executive orders issued by the Acting President; Yemi Osinbajo recently, the Federal Government has asked all government agencies operating inside the ports without authority to vacate their space immediately.
Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Ms Hadiza Bala Usman read the riot act at an enlarged stakeholders meeting in Apapa yesterday.
The meeting which was at the instance of the NPA was jointly addressed by Hadiza and the Comptroller General of Customs, Hameed Ali, the Inspector General of Police represented by AIG marine, Pius Imueh.
Hadiza noted that the government had in year 2011 listed the number of agencies allowed to stay in the port and these includes; the NPA, the Customs, Immigration Service, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Police and the Department of State Security (DSS)
Hence, other agencies that are not to be seen inside the port include; the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
Others are: the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), the Plant Quarantine and Animal Quarantine (PQAQ), the National Environmental Regulatory and Standards Agency (NESREA)
"We have six executive orders attributable to port operations and we felt the need to bring together all the stakeholders operating in the port and present this executive orders and deliberate on ways to achieve success within the stipulated timeline"
"In year 2011, government had streamlined the number of agencies that should be inside the port.
We have the NPA as the landlord, Customs, NIMASA, Police,DSS, Nigerian Immigration service and the Port Health. These are the seven agencies with approval to operate inside the port. Any agency apart from these should vacate the location they are currently occupying inside the port. The NDLEA are to only come in when required" she stated.
While addressing journalists at the end of a closed door session, Hadiza disclosed that a port community system portal has also being established where all operators would domicile and interact on a daily basis.
She said that the portal would be independent and everybody would be able to access it, it would be jointly owned and jointly housed by the agencies of government.
"We have an existing portal, but we ate establishing a port community system which will be the central portal where all agencies and stakeholders that operates in the port would domicile and interact. We should start procuring for the vendor that would deploy the infrastructure in the next one month"
She harped on the need for all stakeholders to come together and collaborate on how the six number executive orders would be successful at the port.
According to her, there is an on-going palliative work on the dilapidated port access roads and that NPA and ministry of works are collaborating on fixing the roads.
Also speaking, Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali assured that in order to comply with government directives that the port should operate 24hours, customs officers would now operate on shifts.
He also assured that government has put processes in motion to procure scanners for customs examination of goods.
"There is no way we can stretch officers for twenty four hours, so we are adopting shift. We have also realised that in order to fast track clearance of cargoes, we need scanners, we cannot subject all containers to 100 per cent inspection because it would not go well"
"We have embarked on a change process and this is manifested in this executive order, it has come to stay and all of us are ready to make it work, it is to ensure the ease of business.
"We have been given a matching order and we must implement. I want to enjoin you all to collaborate with us in implementing. The most critical thing even to importers is time and cost. I don't see why we should spend ten minutes where we could as well spend three minutes. I don't see why we should continue to lengthen our paper processes, approvals and signatures"
On his part, the AIG Marine Police, Pius Imueh assured that the policebus ever ready to provide adequate security of cargoes leaving the port.
He said that "Outside the ports, commissioners of police across the line have been informed on the need to secure goods leaving the port"
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