NPA boss says collapsing duplications are hampering efficiency of exports’ processing

To concretize the increased export orientation of the Federal Government, the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko, who was recently named by President Bola Tinubu GCFR as a member of the Implementation Committee of the National Single Window Project, on Thursday 18th April 2024 met with the Comptroller General of  the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Bashir Adewale MFR at the Customs Area Command Apapa, Lagos.

The meeting focused on infusing greater efficiency into port operations, especially around the export value chain.

Specifically, the deliberations focused on the elimination of duplication of Custom Export Desks undertaking multiple cargo checks from the NPA-licensed Export Processing Terminals (EPT) to the port gate and also within the port.

Also featured in the discussion was putting in place inter-agency modalities to ensure that 24-hour port operations, which is a necessary precondition for Port competitiveness become a reality, to which the MD/CEO NPA and the CG Customs agreed to synergize in the advocacy to get other government agencies such as NAFDAC, SON, NDLEA, NSC, etc whose buy-in is crucial to the actualization of 24-Hour Port operations.

Speaking further Mohammed Bello KoKo, MD NPA, advised stakeholders to take advantage of the other ports such as the Lekki Deep Seaport, and the Eastern Ports of Calabar, Warri, Rivers, and Onne Port, which in recent times have been recording tremendous growth.

The NPA Managing Director had ahead of attending the meeting undertaken a spot check of trucks queuing to enter the Port through the dedicated export priority lanes the Authority had specially created for export boxes.