Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman, Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has called for sustained efforts to maximise the opportunities that are abound in the maritime sub-sector through entrepreneurship.
Bala-Usman made this call in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the call was made at the second edition of the Nigeria and Entrepreneurship Summit and Honors (NESH) Maritime Roundtable in Lagos.
Bala-Usman, who was represented by Mr Ibrahim Nasiru, Assistant General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, spoke on the theme: “Harnessing the Opportunities for Entrepreneurs in the Nigerian Sub Sector.
“The Nation’s Maritime sub sector can be a notable contributor to the efforts at poverty reduction, creation of wealth, promotion of skills acquisition and encouragement of entrepreneurship.
“The sector has the potential of contributing at least 10 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product in no distant future because Nigeria has the biggest market in Africa,” she said.
She further said that Nigeria had a vast inland waterway resources estimated at about 3,000 km that could support a vibrant inter-regional trade.
Bala-Usman noted that the country was also advantageously located on the coastline corridors of the Gulf of Guinea and the Bight of Benin and had eight littoral states coupled with a growing population and huge market that counters the capacity to stimulate substantial domestic tonnage.
She explained that there was need to strengthen requisite skills for greater professionalism through funding and capacity building that would drive the implementation of the abundant Maritime resources in the country.
Bala-Usman said further that the Authority was in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (FMWH) and the Nigerian Railway Corporation to increase the latter’s market share in the wheel of cargo evacuation from the ports.
She said that in doing this, the Authority advocated critical traffic management framework, collaboration with Inland Container depots like that of Kaduna for swift cargo evacuation to the northern hinterlands.
“The deployment of modern technology tools like Revenue and Invoice Management System (RIMS) and the much-expected Single Window for real time swift cargo release processes are in progress.
“The NPA equally encourages stakeholders in the areas of Traffic Management Frameworks for stemming the gridlock across board, automated truck management system exemplified with an efficient call-up system,” she said.
The managing director called for the effective management of the nation’s Green fields, which are expected to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), and generate more revenue while enshrining the tenets of Private Public Partnership (PPP).
She stressed the need for the utilisation of modern navigational infrastructure for health, safety, and security of the port environment whilst enshrining efficient marine services in line with global practice.
