The federal government has said it would support the enforcement of the Nigerian Port Process Manual (NPPM), as part of measures to check corrupt practice in the maritime sector.
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who made the position known during the stakeholders’ meeting organised by Nigerian Shipper’s Council held in Abuja, said the pledge was sequel to an existing undertaking by government.
TheFact Nigeria gathered that upon recommendation by the federal ministry of transportation, the Federal Government had, in December 2020, appointed the Nigerian Shipper’s Council as the lead agency in the implementation of Nigerian Port Process Manual (NPPM).
Pursuant to that, Amaechi said that the Process Manual on Port Operations was designed to be one of the key indicators for the effective implementation of Executive Order 1 issued in 2017, aimed at promoting transparency and efficiency in the business environment.
In a statement by his Media Assistant, Taiye Elebiyo-Edeni, the former Rivers State Governor said, the successful implementation of the NPPM would complement the modernisation of critical transport infrastructure being driven by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari through rail and port.
“The maritime sector offers the best alternative for economic diversification as It has the potential for employment, investments, and as an outlet for the facilitation and strengthening of Nigeria’s international trade.
“Nigeria’s Shippers Council (NSC) Is to drive the process and implementation of the Process Manual; however, I urge Regulatory Authorities, operational agencies, service providers, users of shipping services and other stakeholders to support and comply with Government’s extant directives and the provisions of the NPPM.
“The NSC being the lead agency for the implementation of the Manual, shall coordinate the implementation of the Manual and ensure strict compliance with the rules. NSC also reserves the right to handout sanctions to any agency, service providers and users of shipping services for noncompliance as provided under its economic regulatory mandate.
“The Ministry shall lend its support to the NSC in ensuring compliance with the Manual by all stakeholders, not only in the implementation of the Manual but in other areas such as enforcement, Amaechi said”.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of NSC, Hassan Bello said that the sensitization meeting was aimed at securing the support and collaboration of regulatory agencies, service providers and users of port services.
His words: “The NSC does not see the appointment as conferring any superiority over other regulatory agencies or stakeholders but consider it as an act of service towards achieving government desire of eradicating corruption at the port in order to promote ease of doing business in the transportation industry in Nigeria.’
