The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have launched the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee (PCEC) to enhance efficiency and ease of doing business at the nation’s seaports.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of PCEC in Lagos, the Director General of PEBEC, Zahrah Mustapha, said the committee was launched to change the narrative of missed opportunities in the maritime sector including unlocking potential opportunities to enhance 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.
“It is a call to action for terminal operators to improve infrastructure and for shipping companies to increase efficiency 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.
The Managing Director of NPA, Abubakar Dantsoho, said the authority is currently addressing four major pillars that are critical to repositioning the nation’s seaports and making it compete effectively with regional counterparts.
According to him, investment in infrastructure, equipment, technology, and human capacity would improve the competitiveness and operational efficiency of the nation’s seaports.
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 of 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.
