By Funso Olojo
The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Ms Hadiza Bala Usman took port operators by surprise when she and her team undertook unscheduled tour of Apapa port complex from midnight Saturday to the wee hours of Sunday.
According to the statement by the agency, the visit was to enable Ms Usman to assess the level of compliance of port stakeholders with the 24-hour Executive Order on port operations.
It could be recalled that as part of the initiatives by the Federal government to infuse efficiency and engender ease of doing business at the nation’s sea port, the Acting President gave a marching order to NPA to ensure that business at the ports are done on 24-hour basis.
In a bid to show the seriousness and determination of the NPA in carrying out the presidential directive, Hadiza said she decided to visit the port during that period to show good example to other government agencies and port stakeholders.
She therefore urged stakeholders to collaborate effectively towards the actualization of the tenets of the Executive Order across the Ports through the window of the institutionalized ease of doing business.
The NPA MD assured that the Port environment has been prepared for total compliance to the order and charged agencies at the Ports to “work hand in hand prioritizing information sharing as a tool to be utilized in this regards.
According to her, there are no rooms for compromises on the wheel of progress to total obedience to this Executive Order. She noted that she was at the Port to lead by example in strive for the Nigerian Ports and indeed the nation at large to take its place of pride amongst comity of nations.
The MD NPA stated that “as we come to the end of the ultimatum on the subject, we must work in unison and create pathways to efficiency. This is why we are in the trenches this night. So that the work gets done. Therefore it is appreciated if we go extra mile on compliance and implementation of this regulations”.
She further assured that in the areas of security lighting of the environment and shift service delivery, the organization was ready in all ramification spotlighting safety and security of lives and cargoes in adherence to international statutes.