Vincent Toritseju
Lagos — The acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko has said the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos has become too porous to ward off unauthorised entry just as he directed that a stronger concrete fencing around that facility as the facility has failed to meet the objectives of the International Ships and Ports Facility Security, ISPS Code.
Speaking during an on-the-spot assessment visit to the Tin-Can Island Port Complex with a view to resolving all impediments to the smooth flow of traffic and effective security, within and around the complex, Bello-Koko said the management would be left with no alternative than to use prefab wall fencing, since the wire gauze type could not stand the test of time in view of how it was easily damaged.
The agency boss also said that the visit has availed the management an opportunity to evaluate where the access control gate should be mounted out of the three entry gates into the complex, adding that the Authority, working with the relevant authorities, would move to fast track the necessary public procurement processes.
Bello-Koko who also visited the Sunrise Bus Stop area of the Apapa – Mile 2 highway which had become a failed passage, noted that the poor road situation within this corridor (the major artery in and out of the Tin Can Island Port) remains a huge concern to the Authority.
According to him, the improved traffic situation along the Tin Can Port approach from what it used to be some months back is one of the positives from the synergy between the NPA and the Lagos State Government, LASG, which deployed the necessary security and equipment needed to check indiscriminate parking on the road as well as an end to the menace of touts and other criminals.
He observed that some of the internal roads within the Port Complex are in a state of disrepair, but assured that the Authority, in concert with other relevant agencies of Government and the National Assembly, would mobilize resources as soon as possible to fix such roads.
Describing the Tin Can Port Complex as too porous, the NPA boss noted that the wire gauze perimeter fence installed as a means of preventing unauthorized access in line with the International Ships and Ports Facility Security (ISPS) Code recommendation, have been pulled down, thus much stronger wall of protection must be put in place to keep people who do not have any business having access to the complex.
He disclosed that upon a thorough security assessment, the management would be left with no alternative than to use prefab wall fencing, since the wire gauze type could not stand the test of time in view of how it was easily damaged.
He stated that the visit has availed the management an opportunity to evaluate where the access control gate should be mounted out of the three entry gates into the complex, adding that the Authority, working with the relevant authorities would move to fast track the necessary public procurement processes.