Minister Tasks NPA, NIMASA Boards On Maritime Sector Development

BARELY three months after their appointment, board of directors of the Nigeria Ports Authority ( NPA) and Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA) have been urged to work assiduously to promote security on Nigerianwatersandboosteconomic activities in the maritime sector.

The Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, made the call yesterday while inaugurating the boards.

The boards, which were appointed on February 10, 2020, could not be immediately inaugurated due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease ( COVID- 10) and subsequent lockdown.

Amaechi enjoined the boards to realise that they were not management and must find a way to work harmoniously with the management.

According to him, as board members, their duty is to make policies while the management executes them. On COVID- 19, he said: “We are in unusual times but we can’t afford to shut our seaports. The activities must continue, so that the trade can take place for people to feed.”

He further directed the board members to fashion out ways tomoveforwardwiththeissues of trade facilitation and seaport management.

Responding, Chairman, NPA Board, Chief Akin Ricketts, noted that the major issue was ports congestion due to the inefficiency of the Lagos ports occasionedbyinadequateevacuation corridors, with the Eastern ports being underutilised.

He assured the board would work with all relevant stakeholders to ameliorate the suffering of port users.

“Let me assure the minister that this board would not consider itself an alternate management nor be in competition with the management, but will synergise with and perform effective oversight of the managementtoensurethatthemission, vision and strategic objectives of NPA are achieved...”