Port congestion, corruption top stakeholders agenda for new NPA boss

In this article, Anozie Egole examines the key areas that maritime stakeholders have stressed the new Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Abubakar Dantsoho, should prioritise

On July 12, when President Bola Tinubu announced the appointment of Abubakar Dantsoho as the new managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, many maritime stakeholders took a deep breath of relief.

The appointment of Dantsoho, a maritime practitioner with several years of experience in the sector, brought to an end the two-year reign of the immediate past MD of NPA, Muhammad Bello-Koko, who was appointed by former president Muhammadu Buhari in February 2022.

Dantsoho’s journey into the nation’s maritime industry dates back to 1992, when he did his one-year National Youths Service Corps at the NPA. He has over 25 years of experience in maritime technology, international transport, and port management. He holds a PhD in Maritime Technology from Liverpool John Moores University, UK (2015), an MSc in International Transport from Cardiff University, UK (1999), and a BSc (Hons) from the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria (1992).

A lot is being expected from the new NPA boss, as many look up to him to further transform the industry. Experts expect him to deliver a quality administration and meet the demands of industry stakeholders to supersede what his predecessor did.

Take it or leave it, Bello-Koko’s 29 months of administration in the NPA brought many reforms and transformations in the agency, especially, in the area of revenue generation, facility acquisition, and tackling the perennial traffic congestion which has paralysed activities in the ports area for years.

In the area of revenue generation, the NPA under Bello-Koko, despite headwinds that characterised the year 2023, raked in unprecedented revenues and remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, with revenues steadily growing from N361bn in 2022 to N501bn as of December 2023, and remittances increasing from N93.4bn in 2022 to N206bn by year-end 2023, and to N255bn in first half of 2024.

It could be recalled that Bello-Koko was instrumental in the clearing of the decade-long Apapa–Tincan–Mile 2 traffic to ensure smooth operations. He provided tugboats, mooring boats, pilot cutters, bollards, and fenders across all port locations for effective seaside operations, maximised crane productivity and ensured a reduced transit time for vessels and trucks.

What stakeholders expect from Dantsoho

With the appointment of an insider as the NPA MD, the agency is expected to do better than it did before, both in revenue generation and ensuring that traffic gridlock did not return to the axis.

It is important to note that despite the achievements under Bello-Koko’s leadership of the NPA, Nigeria is ranked 94th in the recently released Logistics Performance Index report by the World Bank. In contrast, some African countries such as South Africa, Egypt, and Benin Republic ranked higher in the report.

In the 2023 LPI sighted by The PUNCH on Monday, Nigeria was ranked 94 out of 139 nations in the global rating, indicating significant challenges in the logistics sector. The LPI evaluates countries based on six key parameters including customs, infrastructure, international shipments, logistics competence, quality, timeliness, tracking and tracing. These indicators provided a comprehensive overview of the efficiency and quality of a country’s logistics and trade environment.

In the ranking, South Africa came 24th while Egypt was ranked 58; Botswana and the Republic of Benin were ranked, 57 and 67 respectively. The report also showed that countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo occupied the 88th position, while Mali, despite the lack of direct access to ports, occupied the 93rd position and Guinea Bissau was at the 92nd position.

However, Nigeria was ranked above countries like the Central African Republic which occupied 101 positions; Ghana, 103: Guinea 105, and Togo 112 among others.

In a bid to boost the efficiency of Nigerian ports, Tinubu inaugurated the steering committee of the National Single Window project in April with the mandate to boost trade in Nigeria by collaborating with agencies of the government at cross purposes. The new NPA boss is expected to ensure that the initiative improves regional integration and trade efficiency, making it a crucial step towards Nigeria’s economic advancement.

Maritime stakeholders while reeling out their expectations from Dantsoho, emphasised corruption and the streamlining of operations at the electronic call-up system as top issues to tackle.

In a congratulatory letter sighted by The PUNCH, the National Association of Maritime Transport Operators urged Dantsoho to prioritise the rehabilitation and maintenance of port infrastructure to enhance the ease of doing business at the ports.

In the letter signed by Adeyinka Aroyewun on behalf of NAMTOP, the association said it understood the importance of a functional and efficient port system to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

“We implore you to address the issue of corruption and extortion at the ports, especially the call-up system, which has been a major challenge for the industry. We suggest the implementation of a transparent and accountable system that would eliminate such vices,” Aroyewun said.

The group advised the new NPA boss to prioritise the development of a sustainable and competitive port system that will attract more investors and boost the country’s revenue generation, saying, “We want to refrain from congratulating you on your appointment as other groups are doing, but rather advise you on your need to be diligent, sincere, and impartial in the discharge of your duties. We believe that you should relate with all stakeholders in a better version than your predecessor’s.”

NAMTOP expressed its anticipation to collaborate with him to enhance the efficiency of the port system in Nigeria.

The National Council of Managing Director of Licensed Customs Agents, Lucky Amiwero, believed that the difference between the new NPA MD and the previous ones was that he had worked in the agency before his appointment.

Amiwero opined that Dantsoho has to look at the various issues that have affected the nation’s port in the last few years, urging him to look at the issue of concession.

He posited that the current concession had no law, saying there was a need to provide a law that would put NPA in a proper position in the port.

He maintained that the law would be able to situate what is proper and what is not proper, “especially at this time when the shippers’ council is promoting their law, which is trying to usurp the power of NPA”.

The NCMDLCA boss believed that it was time for the Nigerian Shippers Council and the NPA to come together to, “see how they can come out with a better law that would bring progress to the country, not political law and not self-interest law. It should be properly designed because once a law is made it becomes operational and it will be very difficult,”

Amiwero argued, “There is no concession in the ports because what we have is a lease agreement and all those things should be corrected. Then, when you are talking about infrastructure, the NPA should not be a revenue-generating agency, it should be an agency involved in providing services. For instance, we have a lot of dredging activities that need to be done.

“A law has not been put in place, for now, we don’t know the limitations of the ports or limitations of operators and regulators. All these things are what we need to put together so that we can have a proper port. They have ceded operations to terminal operators. Who controls them? Most of these terminals, you can’t go there to access them. All these things should be regulated so that we can have seamless operations.

“We are losing cargo because of the ways we run our things. But lately, the NPA is coming out strongly to see how they can do one or two things to correct the wrongs they have done in the ports. The electronic call-up system should be revisited so that people who are paying the ETO should be properly allocated that payment,” he explained.

Amiwero while calling on the need to put the ports in the right perspective, said the ports have been existing without a law for a very long time. He said the ports have a contract that has not been renewed, saying these are the areas the Federal Government needs to look into, and not the only new MD alone if it wants to retrieve lost cargo.

A former acting National President of the Association of National Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Farinto Kayode, assured stakeholders to expect 90 per cent performance from Dantosho as the MD of the NPA.

He explained that when somebody grows through the ranks and knows the terrain, that person should be expected to perform, just like putting a square peg in a square role.

“What I know about Dantosho is that he is a thoroughbred maritime person. We grew up together and I know him as a young public officer,” Farinto said.

He expressed optimism that Dantsoho would perform better than his predecessor “because he knows the terrain and where the shoe pinches”.

He stated, “Dantosho would surpass Bello-Koko’s achievements. The port access road should be one of his priorities, particularly given the level of corruption and bribery going on before trucks are allowed to enter the port. Truck owners are the ones feeling the brunt, we are the ones paying it and we are transferring it to the final consumers. He should look into this so that stakeholders will be relieved.

“There are a lot of things he needs to also look into. I am expecting that he calls for a meeting with freight forwarders where we will disclose to him a lot of the challenges militating cargo clearance.”

He added that NPA has several roles to play.

“Brawal Port should now become a money-making machine for the Federal Government. Part of the Brawal Port should be concessioned to the private sector so that it would add value to cargo clearance and all the terminal operators that are unable to meet up with the modern equipment. Dantosho should give them a final warning before he uses the big stick. I know he is not going to disappoint us,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, said Tinubu has been committed to ease of doing business, saying this needs to be extended to the ports.

Muda, who is the former Director-General of the Lagos Chamber for Commerce and Industry, maintained that the NPA has been the landlord at the port and has a role to play in developing infrastructure.

Despite the numerous expectations, these stakeholders believe that other things could be done to bring the ports to optimal performance. Muda added that there is a need to ensure NPA plays its role in ensuring that the nation’s port systems are much more efficient.

He charged the new MD to look into the issue of the call-up system, ease of entry and get out of the port, ensuring the processes are more efficient, smarter and investor-friendly.

A freight forwarder, Mr Johnpaul Ejiogu, believed that as a maritime person, the new NPA boss knows what the sector needs to move forward.

“I don’t think he needs much advice, he has been around for a long time, and he knows what the sector needs to move forward,” Ejiogu stated.