By Tanko Mohammed
The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh, says maritime agencies are looking at the workability of 24-hour port services to tackle congestion.
Jamoh disclosed in Lagos, after the second edition of the monthly meeting of heads of maritime parastatals, held at the NIMASA headquarters.
The NIMASA DG said that the heads of agencies agreed to play their respective roles to facilitate the operation of 24 hours a day, seven days a week port services.
He said that this would help to decongest the ports and tremendously impact on the Ease of Doing Business initiative of the Federal Government.
Jamoh said the meeting constituted a committee to produce a work plan for the 24-hour port system, and agreed to carry communities around the port environments along.
He said this was in order to ensure safe operations within the port vicinity and beyond.
“We are looking at the workability of 24-hour port services to ease the pressure on our ports in terms of congestion.
“We also agreed to work with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on how movement of cargoes from the ports can be done by rail to reduce the pressure on our roads.
“Our focus is also to ensure containers are moved by barges to dry ports outside the port environments. All these will help in the efficiency and effectiveness of our ports,” he said.
Jamoh said the meeting discussed issues bordering on maritime safety and security, port efficiency, intermodal transportation, as well as synergy among agencies in the sector.
He said the forum of CEOs of the agencies had given the maritime industry a platform to grow and contribute more to Nigeria’s economic development.
According to him, the meeting, the second in the series, has started yielding positive fruits.
“For instance, the issue of berthing the NIMASA floating dock, which has lingered for a couple of years has been resolved through this meeting and very soon it will be deployed for use,” he said.
Speaking at the session, Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman, emphasised the need for intermodal transport system in and around the port environments.
Bala-Usman said Nigeria must prioritise intermodal transportation to reap the benefits of shipping and port activities.
She said the heads of maritime agencies agreed to work with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to facilitate movement of cargo from the ports by rail.
The Managing Director of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Dr George Moghalu, said that safety was paramount in the whole issue.
Moghalu said all the maritime agencies agreed to work together to rid the Nigerian waters of unsafe craft and practises that endanger passengers and other users of the waterways.
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Mr Hassan Bello, said the new synergy among the heads of maritime agencies was a significant building block for efficient economic activities within the country’s maritime domain.
Bello said the ultimate aim was to make Nigeria a maritime hub in Africa through efficient and effective maritime operations and infrastructure.
