The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Abubakar Dantsoho, has restated the agency’s focus on strengthening Nigeria’s non-oil export capacity through simplified port procedures and improved links between the ports and the hinterland.
Dantsoho, who spoke during the NPA Special Day at the ongoing Kano International Trade Fair, noted the enduring role of the Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA) in sustaining the fair as a major platform for regional and international trade engagement. He described Kano as a strategic commercial hub connecting Nigeria to the northern corridor and neighbouring landlocked countries, adding that its agro-allied potential positions it as a key player in the nation’s export drive.
The NPA helmsman outlined some of the measures introduced by the Authority to boost export competitiveness. These include the establishment of Export Processing Terminals (EPTs), conceived as integrated one-stop centres for the consolidation, documentation, packaging and certification of export-bound produce before their movement to the ports. He explained that the terminals, developed in partnership with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and other stakeholders, were designed to eliminate duplication of processes and reduce delays that previously hindered smooth export activities.
Dantsoho also disclosed that the Authority is advancing efforts to automate port operations fully through the Ports Community System (PCS), which will eventually integrate into the National Single Window (NSW). The NSW, he said, represents the global standard for connecting all actors in the trade ecosystem on a unified digital platform, thereby reducing human interface and improving efficiency.
According to him, these reforms reflect the Authority’s commitment to ensuring that producers and value creators across the country can access international markets with fewer impediments.
He encouraged traders and participants at the fair to visit the NPA pavilion to obtain firsthand information on the agency’s digital platforms and ongoing initiatives aimed at easing cargo movement.
“To support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially in the spirit of this year’s fair theme, we are intensifying efforts to simplify export procedures so that made-in-Nigeria products can pass through the ports with minimal difficulty. We remain open to partnerships beyond the fair,” he said.
