NPA lists NDLEA among agencies to operate at ports

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said that the 2011 Presidential Directive to reduce agencies operating at the ports to eight still subsists.

NPA, at a stakeholders meeting held on Wednesday said that only seven agencies were authorised by the Federal Government to operate within the sea ports. It further said the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) would be invited on the ‘Need to know bases’.

The NPA, in a statement issued by the Principal Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Ibrahim Nasiru, in Lagos, listed the eight approved agencies.

They are: Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Police, Department of State Service (DSS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Port Health.

Nasiru also stated that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had been approved to operate at the ports.

He said that the directive was communicated to the Managing Director of the NPA through a memo by the Federal Ministry of Transportation.

He added that the memo indicated that a methodology which would ensure that only relevant cargoes were inspected by the NDLEA would be worked out.

He said other agencies not mentioned in the list would remain outside the port premises as the authority would develop standard procedures to facilitate their seamless operations.