The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has accused clearing agents and other port operators of failing to come forward and make use of the 24 hour facilities provided by the agency and others to clear their consignments.
Managing Director of NPA; Hadiza Bala Usman stated this yesterday while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the commissioning of the newly-upgraded Lagos Port Complex Clinic at the Apapa port.
Hadiza said that, NPA and other government agencies now operate 24 hours in Apapa port. She however expressed disappointment that apart from the normal 9am to 5pm working hours, nobody is coming to operate at the port.
She assured that the palliative works on the alternative route to the dilapidated Wharf is on-going on order to ease traffic challenges at the approaches to the port.
The NPA boss urged all port operators to come forward and see the facilities inside the port and make use of them.
"We are encouraging all agents and the port community to come and see what we have and start using our facility twenty four hours"
"We have noted that the 24 hours service are not being utilised outside the 9am to 5pm working hours, so we are encouraging agents to come and clear their cargoes outside of the 9-5 normal working hours, NPA and other agencies have deployed all their facilities towards 24 hours operations", she assured.
She noted that the newly-upgraded Lagos Port Complex Clinic is also to provide 24 hours medical service to port operators in line with the executive order issued by the Federal Government.
While commissioning the facility located inside Apapa port, Usman noted that although the clinic has been in existence for years, it has now been upgraded to make it ready for a round-the-clock emergency service in response to the executive order.
She assured that in implementing the executive order, especially the 24 hours port operations in Apapa port, NPA would ensure that all emergency and rapid response services are available to port operators.
"We can now assure all our stakeholders that adequate attention can be paid to their health challenges in the port on a 24hours basis"
"I appeal to port users at the LPC to make use of this facility. The clinic is also in line with our commitment in providing corporate social responsibility to the entire port community" She said
Also speaking, General Manager Western Ports, Arch. Abiodun Gbadamosi noted that prior to the upgrading of the clinic; it has always been challenging to attend to accident victims within the port environment.
In most cases, he said that it takes two hours to get accident victims outside the port to get emergency treatment.
"We have had a number of incidents in the past which had required taking casualties outside port areas and this takes two hours. These two hours could make a difference between life and death", he said.
On her part, the Chief Medical Officer of Lagos Port Complex, Dr. C.I Nwokolo at the commissioning noted that with the relocation of the LPC clinic to a more visible and acceptable site, a giant step has been taken towards a round-the-clock medical service in the port.
She also hinted that NPA may also possibly earn revenue by opening the clinic up to stakeholders and other port users on commercial basis.
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