We need intermodal transport, electronic call-up system to address congestion on Apapa roads - Usman
Hadiza Bala-usman is the managing director of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA). In this interview monitored on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, she shared her thought on how to address the perennial - quarters during the #ENDSARS protest, port operations, and how the port was able to navigate during the
Can you give insight into the #ENDSARS attack on the NPA? On Tuesday, we recorded a challenging attack on the Tin-can Island Port and one of the Policemen was badly injured. He passed on after a week of being hospitalalised following that attack at Tin-can. To our minds, we were more concerned about the critical infrastructure in the port location and we deployed the necessary security support to Tin-can and Apapa Ports. We got Nigerian Navy to provide back-up that Tuesday night to ensure the port was protected. We had two incidents of attacks on Tin-can Island Port but the hoodlums were repelled and they went back to prepare before launching another attack on Tin-can.
We never see our corporate headquarters as a vulnerable place that we need to beef up security beyond what we usually have. We paid more attention in protecting the port locations because that is where we have huge investment and it’s the gateway to the nation’s economy.
Looking at the level of destruction, it is definitely something and you said that the insurance companies are already looking at the books. Any valuation yet of how much the rebuilding would cost?
No valuation yet. We have engaged a company to do the integrity test in order to determine what it is that arise from the burning of that part of our building. So, once the integrity report is ready, the insurance companies would now takeover. So, you can see that the building has insurance, furniture insurance and computers that we have. There were also 27 vehicles that were burnt within our office premises and car park, and there were those that were looted. It was quite a significant impact on the building and our logistics.
No details of the valuation yet but once we have those numbers we will make then public because we are public entity and everything we do is meant for the citizens to know.
The critical aspects of our operations within the headquarter building such as our ICT, which is our platform for payment was not affected. We had concern about power supply to the building which was cut off because of the fire and we had downtime of about two days before our payment system resumed operation. We have sustained our operations and we are in the building because it was a wing that was burnt.
When the Minister of Transportation visited, he said that if the hoodlums were not arrested they would do it again. So, regarding that, and there are insulations that it seems like an insider job due to the coordination of the attack. Are you pursuing that angle and what have you found out?
When the Nigerian Navy came to provide us with support to repel the hoodlums, they were able to arrest about seven of them. They have been handed over to the Nigerian Police. We are initiating the process of prosecuting them because they were found in the premise. We also have CCTV footage of how the attack happened and we found it interesting because they were also destroying our CCTV in order not to be captured. But we have significant video footage of what happened and we have sent it to Lagos and Federal Governments to initiate the process of investigation on our behalf.
Do you suspect an insider job?
We have not been able to detect instances of an insider job. All the CCTV footage could not show anybody that we could identify. We saw people including women looting refrigerators and standing air conditioners, computers etc. The mobile Policemen that were on duty were overwhelmed and chessed away and the hoodlums took over the premises. They were there for two hours before we were able to get support from Nigerian Navy to arrest the incident.
Would you say that the port is back full stream now or you’re still trying to get into the flow?
Yes, within Covid-19 period, port operation was sustained. We continued and vessels were calling into the port, but the challenge that we had during the critical part of the lockdown was the whole value chain, because port was opened on one hand. For example, banks were not open and we had to intervene to get banks open. It was difficult to have port open and then, the warehouses that the goods would go to, were not open. So, that was a big issue within that period, and at that point, the Nigerian Ports Authority granted rent free period. So, if you have your cargo coming in within the period of lockdown, you will not be charged rent for keeping it in the port because you couldn’t take it out and it wasn’t your fault that you couldn’t take it out.
So, we sustained that. There was also the challenge around crew change because of the Covid, vessels that were coming in with crew that have been onboard vessel for a long time, had a constrain of exiting their crew, and then bringing another set but with the Presidential Task Force, we were able to grant all the necessary support and approval for ships calling in Nigeria. We have them change their crew without exposing anyone to any infection arising from on the vessel or off the vessel.
One critical challenge a number of people who do business with you talk about is access to the ports, and that seems to be perennial, not just at the ports, but also in the neighbourhoods, the surrounding environment.
So, inflow and outflow is a challenge. Within the port, one of the important things is the deployment of intermodal transportation and I keep speaking to that. If you look at the volumes of cargo, 1.2 million TEUS of containers come into the port and all those containers are evacuated by road. The road would be congested. Eventually, they’re bad because of the width of the tonnage and we need to conclude on the rail connections to the port. Of course, there is huge drive within the Ministry of Transportation for rail deployments.
Now, Tin-can Island and Apapa are getting the necessary connections. So, we look at intermodal transportation as the solution to cargo evacuation. We use rail, water and road, so that mix would now allow portions of cargo to be split across those transportation nodes. That way you would not have one area being congested.
To the minds of every Nigerian, if my cargo comes into Nigerian port and is there for three months, they will call to complain but they won’t realise that the role of NPA is when the vessel calls into the Nigerian waterways, gets to the fairway buoy, which is the main entrance into the port location, NPA pilots go on board to pilot the vessel. Our job is to ensure the draft is accommodating for the vessel by maintenance dredging. We ensure the pilots bring the vessel to the terminal to dock and cargo is unloaded in the terminal.
Once the cargo is in the terminal, the next thing is for agencies that are responsible for inspection to takeover to inspect the cargo, which is the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies. At that point, Nigerian Ports Authority has no oversight over that. So, once the cargo is on the terminal, the next aspect is inspection. We have 100 percent physical examination. So, if you look at 1.2 million TEUS been inspected physically by Customs, how fast can we do that to enable you get your cargo faster.
Scanner is used globally for that. So, if you have scanner, the container will just drive through it and all the information that is needed by Customs and others will be seen. Customs is responsible for providing scanner and they are in the process of procuring it but that is a critical aspect of the delay that we have.
Outside the port, road connecting the port is also not in the purview of NPA. For example, the roads approaching the ports are Ministry of Works, and truck park locations are Lagos State Government. So, our Key Performance Indicators are tied to others.
Are you trying to apportion blame?
No, is for people to understand and for all of us to be held accountable. At the end of the day, we’re all government. So, government needs to provide the necessary infrastructure for citizens. On the backside, we have to push Customs for scanners, we have to push Ministry of Works to do the roads because the citizens don’t want to know and we’re all government.
An average business person goes through a lot to get goods to the brink of Nigeria, but some of them have to pay N700,000 and N1 million to get their goods to the warehouse. So, to the issue of congestion, I know you talked about overtime cargo, and how to do away with them through auction. But, are there solution because that is the major challenge?
Solution one is to have inter-modal transportation. Two, within the Lagos area, we need to have electronic callup system and truck transit parks that are designated for inflow into the port. When we have electronic call-up, our idea is that the reason trucks are on the
“At that point, Nigerian Ports Authority has no oversight over that. So, once the cargo is on the terminal, the next aspect is inspection. We have 100 percent physical examination. So, if you look at 1.2 million TEUS been inspected physically by Customs, how fast can we do that to enable you get your cargo faster
road, is if it has been called up to go and pick up a cargo.
Right now, the trucks drivers drive to the port location and they are there for days. A lot of instances, they are there marketing that their trucks are a day to the port, come and give me cargo. So, we must have an electronic call-up where the truck parks are linked to the port location and the truck can only start going to the port, if it called upon.
Electronic call-up deployment is what we need to do and we have concluded on that. In January, we are going to unveil that. We are going to be using one of our terminals at Lilypond as the entry point. Lilypond would be where trucks would have the final clearance into the port.
We will be doing that while the Lagos State Government would be providing larger trailer park to be the hub where trucks would stay and wait for clearance to go into the port. That would create a level of sanity where the whole area is not congested. Within Apapa area, we also have the tank farms. So, there is also that issue where we have trailers going to pick petroleum products. We will have layers of entrances. One would be for the port while the second would be for the entrance into the tank farms.
January is when the large trailer park that would accommodate about 1,000 trucks, which the Lagos State Government is providing, would be ready. They are going to use the Ahmed Bola Tinubu Trailer Park in Orile Iganmu to enable larger mobup. From Orile Park, trucks would be called up to Lilypond or Tin-can Island Trailer Parks to get the final clearance into the ports.
To speak to the issue of overtime cargoes and the need to auction, that’s an integral part of the concern that we have. Cargoes come into the port and they’re not cleared and they lead to congestion.
They’re not cleared because imagine I spend so much to get the goods into Nigeria. My desire is to get them out because there are so many bottlenecks. Some people say it costs times eight, the amount of importing just to get the goods out?
So if you decide to abandon it, meaning you don’t want it anymore. When you abandon it for whatever reason, the cargo would be moved to government warehouse where Customs will auction it, but the challenge we have now is that the government warehouse is full. Customs needs to now auction both cargos to enable more of the overtime cargo being moved out.
Is there anything that can be done to encourage businesses because if the amount spent to import is way less than the amount needed to clear the goods that is not fair?
The amount needed to clear are fixed. Customs has the charges. The concern has to do with moving the goods. So, if I brought this, and is taking me x thousand to navigate through the port, that is usually the issue. The cost of renting a truck into the port is too high, because the trucks are in traffic for days and they charge higher.
You know the ease of doing business index and the conversations over the years. I guess you know about that PEBEC committee that the President set up under the Vice President’s office to do something to ensure that we reduce the number of stops people will have to get through.
It has to do with compliance. And I keep saying it, when we had meetings with the Vice President, because he’s the chair of the Presidential Council of Ease of Doing Business, is the need for sanctioning non-compliant agencies.
So, to the extent that is a directive and executive order, which speaks to the need of having one single interface for inspection, all agencies of government should do one inspection, and once the cargo is cleared, nobody should stop the cargo again. But in this instance, we have continuous incidences where cargo is inspected but once it gets to the gate, is inspected again, and when it gets to the road, it’s inspected again.
There are several agencies that are non-compliant. So, my position through the lifespan and ease of doing business, you must sanction noncompliance if a directive is given as an executive order, and an agency just does not do that…
There are a number of agencies that do that, for example, Nigeria Customs Service were seen having an inspection at the gate and having a highway patrol. They references that as part of their Act, and this is their justification. They said that their Act enables them to do inspection, wherever they deemed fit, it also reference the fact that there were certain instances of arrest of illegal goods done within those inspections that they do outside of the one-stop-shop.
So, there are all these submissions that are being made. But indeed, we must ensure sanction for non-compliance or then change the Executive orders. Going back to the overtime cargo, for example, the Presidents of Shippers Association of Lagos says clearing those goods that shippers must get extra funds for distribution to corrupt platforms in the ports, which is one of the reasons those goods are abandoned in the first place. So, what are you doing to ensure sanctioning?
What I’m aware of is that we have issue where moving into the port, people give police and officials on the route money to get into the port. That is what I’m aware of but any other incidents of corruption inside the port as relates to the clearance of the cargo. I’m not aware of that.
I would encourage the head of the shippers association to bring that to our attention. So, that area where one needs to pay officials like police, LASTMA and all others to get into the port is what we seek to address by having an electronic call-up system. So, that is what we need to eliminate such corruption within the value chain.
So, if we have too much overtime cargo in the terminal, it means that offloading would be difficult. So, we move overtime cargo out of the terminal to the government warehouse, and the government warehouse needs to be freed. It’s like we bring it in, auction so that you can bring in more cargo. So, we are keen to ensure that there is space within our port to enable us have more cargo.
To speak to also the areas where we need to improve on our own operational efficiency is the needs to have our terminal operators have the necessary equipment and necessary development plan. In some instances, we have sanctioned terminal operators for not investing, and we insist they must provide cranes needed to have fast movement of cargo. On our side,
these are some of things we are doing within NPA.
To the issue of auction, has it begun?
Auction is done by Nigeria Customs. We don’t auction. All we do is to move overtime to government warehouse. And at that point, Customs would auction them. We don’t have much illegal imports coming into the port. When we move items to the government warehouse, Customs now decides on the modalities for auction which is within their jurisdiction. All we want is for them to auction them faster, so that we have more space in the government warehouse to keep moving overtime cargo and to ensure the terminal is not congested.
What qualifies as overtime?
Overtime is when cargo stays in a terminal for over 30 days.
Looking at the land borders, which might actually make your job easier, really, in terms of important?
The issue of land border closure, there should be increase in volumes of cargo to the country through the port, but we didn’t see that. So, when the land borders were closed, we expect that Nigerian Ports should have higher volumes coming in, but we saw a marginal increase of no significance, which now speaks to the fact that the volumes of cargo that are coming in from the land borders, a huge portion of them are banned in Nigeria or those that has high import tariff.
There was an increased, but not to the tune of what usually comes in through the land borders.
Do you think it’s effective really closing those borders?
Well, the increase in volumes are marginal, there is an increase in volume, for example, automobiles and certain items, but it’s marginal compared to what we see coming through the land borders. So, just as an expense for me is more to do with small and medium enterprises that are challenged within the land borders.
These are goods that come in from the neighbouring countries, for SMES that have no business coming from the high seas or water. So, those are the traffic that will be challenged within the land border closure that may have no impact. Because typically, there are people sending things from Nigeria to Ghana, so they have no business going through the port.
The Auditor-general’s report, for instance, talks about some challenges with remittances between 2014 and 2015, specifically, and no issues arose, at least from the records that are in public now on 2016, 2017 reports so far. What are those issues? For instance, this is what we have on 2016 - N67.5 billion non-remittance of internally generated revenue and must spend funds into the consolidated revenue. This has happened before does it continue?
No, we have insisted that all contributions around remittance to PRF are prioritised. I started in 2016 July and from then henceforth will ensure that we make payments as at when due so that we don’t have any carryover. And indeed some of the non-payments arising from those years, we have to make payments to them.
Another concern is the issue of audited statements, if you’re familiar with the process is that you need to audit your statements to be able to determine actual amounts. But even before your statements are audited, you need to make those payments that way after the audit you know if there’s a balance or not, and when I joined I inherited audited statements for 13, 14, 15 on audited financial statements, we have to work hard to meet up an audit backlog to enable us meet up.
Now we’ve been able to make sure that our audited statements are up to date and we’re making the necessary remittance. We have increased our remittance in full compliance with Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Talking about port congestion, what are the plans to expand to decentralised port activities?
In terms of Eastern Ports, we have given waiver on harbour dues to encourage vessels to call at the eastern ports. We have also expanded on our container access in Onne Port. During the lockdown, we had the largest container vessel come into the country in order to make the shipping companies know that Onne is a destination. There’s also a huge market around that. So we’re making all efforts to ensure that there is attraction to taking your cargo to other locations in the country beyond Lagos.
There is also the need to have deeper vessels and larger draft. Where the world is going for economies of scale, vessels are built larger. For example, right now, we have vessels calling our neighbouring countries large vessels, and then goods are put on smaller vessels to bring to us because our draft is 13 metres and vessels now needs 16 meters.
We need to push for deep seaport like we have Ibom deep seaport, Bonny etc. So, having those deep seaports but what we actually need now, because of what is going on globally. As I mentioned, they’re encouraging vessels to call into the eastern port.
For example, Calabar is currently at 6 meters and we plan to dredge to 10 metres. The cost of dredging was about N50 billion and we couldn’t justify that, dredging for N50 billion to 10 metres when the world is going to 16 meters.
Now we’ve been able to make sure that our audited statements are up to date and we’re making the necessary remittance. We have increased our remittance in full compliance with Fiscal Responsibility Act
What is the earliest time to have deep seaport?
Lekki Deep Seaport is last quarter 2022. That’s what we got out from them recently. The other deep seaports, we don’t have any specific timeline for commencing commercial operations.