Vincent Toritseju
30 May 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos – Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman, has spoken of challenges in the operations of the nation’s ports, but, stated that they were being addressed.
Of worry to industry stakeholders has been the increasing rate of attacks on vessels berthed at the Lagos Ports Complex, LPC.
Maintaining that NPA has commenced strategies to arrest the attacks, Usman assured that by the time some of the strategies were in place, the agency would point fingers to stakeholders perceived to be responsible for such attacks.
Usman, who spoke through NPA’s Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Mr. Sekonte Davis, at the company’s quarterly stakeholders meeting in Lagos, disclosed that more patrol boats would be purchased by the agency to enhance port waterfront patrols.
It was also gathered that one of the most attacked berths is the ENL terminal that handles bulk cargoes and fish.
The NPA boss advised the management of ENL terminal to look into their internal system, adding that there could be sabotage from within.
“ENL should look within its system and see if there is sabotage because the mode of these attacks suggests that there is an insider that gives out information to these criminals.
“ENL should also increase its operational vehicle patrols as this could help to detect and forestall attacks at the berths,” she said.
“NPA has said that there are challenges and when these challenges are addressed, we will now have a better platform to point finger at people that we find culpable.
“Presently, we are not pointing fingers. We are discussing together, we are looking at the operations, and we are suspecting that there could be sabotage inside some of these terminals,” she added.
Usman explained that the NPA has also commenced discussions with the port Police Command with a view to strengthening waterfront security at the ports.
