The Chairman, Advisory committee of the Nigerian Ports Process Manual (NPPM), Prince Olayiwola Shittu, on Wednesday, urged the Nigeria Shippers’ Council to ensure the development of all Inland Dry Ports across the country.
Shittu expressed optimism that the ICDs, when fully operational, would address congestion at the nation’s ports, create employment opportunities as well as generate substantial revenue for the government.
‘‘Since Shippers’ Council already has a plan on developing Inland Container Depot (ICDs) to spread all over the country, we are encouraging them to have as many as possible to reduce the problem that we are experiencing in Lagos,” he added.
He stated that the NPPM had recorded some landmark achievements in port operations since the introduction of the manual at the nation’s seaports.
Leading the committee on a courtesy visit to NSC’s Headquarters in Lagos, Shittu, who was also the former National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agent (ANLCA), added that the manual had aided port operations,
“‘This is a committee that is set up to work pro-bono to assist the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to achieve its mandate as contained in the NPPM.
“The manual is to support the Ease of Doing Business initiated by the Federal Government.
“The CEO of the NSC has invited us to brief him about our activities, to enable him know what is going on in the NPPM’s committee,” he said.
He affirmed the readiness of the committee to support the NSC so as to meet its aspirations for the ports.
Responding, the Executive Secretary of NSC, Mr Emmanuel Jime, thanked the advisory committee for its pivotal role in developing the NPPM as well as its commitment to the implementation phase.
According to the NSC boss, the efforts of the committee highlighted the crucial role of port stakeholders, via collaborative approaches, in ensuring that the sector thrived efficiently.
Jime equally commended the NSC Port Standing Committee for ensuring that the NPPM was implemented at the seaports.
