The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), on Thursday, launched the Ports and Customs Efficiency Commitee (PCEC) to end N912.5 billion Nigeria lost annually to port inefficiencies.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the PCEC, in Lagos, the director general, PEBEC, Princess Zahrah Mustapha, said improving efficiencies at the nation’s seaports would reduce cargo dwell time, vessel turnaround and turnover for Customers.
According to the PEBEC DG, the committee was launched to change the narrative of missed opportunities in the maritime sector and as well unlock potential opportunities, and enhancing Nigeria's economy.
"By improving efficiencies in our ports, we can drastically reduce the average cargo dwell time and turnover time for customers, eliminate duplication of documentation and manual processes, and ensure customers' satisfaction.
"This is not just another one of our reforms, but this is about resilience, it's about unlocking potential opportunities, and enhancing Nigeria's economy. This is not just a committee made up of government force for a difference, this also has a lot of private sector stakeholders.
"It is a call to action for terminal operators to improve infrastructure and for shipping companies to increase efficiency so as to reduce delays, for freight forwarders to uphold compliance, and for regulators to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks. It is a call for shared ownership of our shared problem and a commitment to deliver a shared solution," she stated.
Speaking on missed opportunities, Princess Audu, stated that Customs Committee was established to go beyond identifying the problems but to begin implementing the solutions that are long overdue.
"Nigeria loses approximately N2.5 billion every single day due to some of our inefficiencies. This amount accumulated is about N912.5 billion. These are not just numbers, these are missed opportunities. They represent jobs not created, goods not delivered, investments not realised, and economic growth that is unnecessarily delayed.
"The Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee has been established to change this narrative, to go beyond identifying the problems we already know and begin implementing the solutions we all agree are long overdue.
"At PEBEC, our mandate has been very clear to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks that will allow people do business at Nigerian seaports. Since 2016, we have driven over 200 reforms across sectors, collaborating with ministries, departments, agencies, and private sector and since I came on board, I've taken it one step forward.
"So beyond passing or helping pass reforms or policies, it's time for us to focus on implementation and practical output of what these reforms can translate into. This is why this committee is important to us.
The Parts and Customs Efficiency Committee is not an observer group, it is an action-oriented, high-impact one, charged with driving sustainable improvement in service delivery at the Nigerian ports working hand-in-hand with agencies like the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Nigerian Customs Services, and other government agencies within the ports, technical operators, shipping companies, freight haulers, logistic providers, exporters, manufacturers, and policymakers, this is a reform ecosystem that accommodates everyone" Princess Audu stated.
Speaking earlier, the managing director of NPA, Abubakar Dantsoho, said the authority is currently adressing four major pillars that are critical to repositioning the nation's seaports and make it compete effectively with regional counterparts.
According to the NPA boss, investment in infrastructure, equipment, technology, and human capacity would improve competitiveness and operational efficiency of the nation’s seqports.
Dantsoho noted that port infrastructure, particularly in Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports, is aged and in dire need of rehabilitation.
“Tin Can was constructed about 48 years ago, Apapa almost 100 years ago—yet no major rehabilitation has taken place all these years,” he said.
He added that recent government approval for the reconstruction of both ports would significantly improve berth depth and cargo handling capacity.
On the technological front, the NPA MD disclosed that the agency is working closely with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to deploy the Port Community System (PCS), which he described as the backbone for the National Single Window.
He stressed that PCS will eliminate paperwork and reduce human interface, thereby improving transparency, reducing cost, and boosting efficiency and revenue generation.
In terms of human capital, Dantsoho said the NPA is intensifying efforts to upgrade the skills of pilots and technical personnel to meet modern navigational and operational demands.
He concluded by reiterating the importance of inter-agency collaboration across all operational areas.
“NPA cannot do it alone. Efficiency must cut across all segments if we are to truly optimize revenue and compete globally,” he said.
Also speaking the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said efficient port is critical to Nigeria's logistics and trade competitiveness.
Adeniyi whonwas represented by the deputy comptroller general of Customs, Tariff and Trade, DCG C.K Niagwan, stated further that for Nigeria ports to achieve its hub status all the MDAs must be committed to seeing that the ports are efficient.
He further stressed the need for a sustained investment in infrastructure and technology, saying, "We have identified key challenges that have caused the inefficiencies to be severe congestion, which leads to prolonged cargo dwell time, as well as escalated logistic costs.
"Also, the ports need to be revitalized for them to be efficient and this part, being efficient, is very critical to Nigeria's logistics, trade, competitiveness, as well as regional and continental relations, particularly under the frameworks of the African Free Continental Free Trade Agreement.
"There's a need for us to implement measures that require public-private collaboration, very important, because the Nigerian government cannot afford to actually build on the infrastructures of the port. We need to have the private sector join us in doing that.
"We also need to have regulatory commitment, very important. All the MDAs must be committed to seeing that the ports are efficient. We also need to have sustained investment in infrastructure and technology.
"We have identified key challenges that have caused the inefficiencies to be severe congestion, which leads to prolonged cargo dwell time, as well as escalated logistic costs. We have identified manual and fragmented processes that have led to delayed customs clearance and cargo inspections. We also have aging infrastructures where we have outdated cargo handling equipment and inadequate rail evacuation system.
"We have regulatory overlaps where many agencies are in the ports and their functions overlap, leading to operational delays. We have security, as well as corruption concerns, incidences of extortion, as well as unauthorized access to ports that have compromised the ports' integrity. There are several measures that we can implement to be able to have efficiency in our ports," the Customs boss stated
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