NPA Committed to Elimination of Systemic Corruption at Ports, Says MD
BELLO KOKO, MD, NPA
* Collaborates with Navy on local capacity building in hydrographic survey
Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko, has reiterated the organization’s commitment to the elimination of systemic corruption and other criminal practices at the nation’s seaports.
He has equally affirmed the Authority’s position to operate in compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) as stipulated in the Nigerian Port Process Manual (NPPM), a project it funded, to enhance operational excellence and service delivery at all Nigerian seaports and terminals.
The MD NPA made these remarks recently when he received members of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) led by Soji Apampa, at the Authority’s head-office in Marina, Lagos, according to a statement from the General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Ibrahim Nasiru.
Koko stated that the NPA Management appreciates the positive being played by the network in partnership with key sister agencies and organizations to create a more friendly environment for doing business in the nation’s maritime industry. He also commended the group for promoting the gains of business integrity and raising awareness on the negative impact of corruption on the country’s image and global rating.
The NPA helmsman expressed delight that the anti-corruption reforms introduced by the Buhari led Federal Government has significantly reduced corrupt and related criminal practices in the Nigerian port and shipping sector.
In his words, “the NPA Management under my watch is happy to note that we are doing well in view of the drop in the incidences of corruption to 5 from over 150 cases when this anti-corruption campaign started. We have seen the progress being recorded in all aspect of port operations as well as revenue into government coffers, it shows that sooner than later, the port industry in Nigeria would become the most attractive maritime cluster in the region, going by our market share and capacity”, he declared.
The MD opined that having achieved and addressed the bottleneck with sailing and berthing of vessels, attention should now be on the ease of cargo clearance at the port and ways of boosting the global competitiveness of the country’s exports. He elaborated that concerted action is needed in order to make cargo clearance simpler, faster and market friendly.
Koko called for better synergy between the critical agencies of government involve in maritime trade in line with the NPPM and the protocols guiding the ease of doing business at the port, as this will bring to an end to long delays in cargo examination, boost the country’s international trade, generate thousands of jobs, increase revenue to government and raise profit of private enterprises.
Leader of the MACN team, Soji Apampa, explained that the purpose of their visit is to intimate the Authority about the achievements recorded, in collaboration with other key stakeholders, to engender zero tolerance to corruption in the port as well as remove opaqueness in port operations in line with international best practice.
He mentioned that the Nigerian port ecosystem has witnessed a positive change in the last three years, as reported demands made by corrupt public officials on ship-masters and shipping agents in the process of vessel clearance has reduced from three to two digits. “The introduction of the SOPs and NNPM has increased the level of transparency around processes to be complied with in Nigerian ports. The introduction of the Port Service Support Portal has also made complaints and grievance handling processes more transparent and effective”.
He further said that his group from 2017 has trained over a thousand personnel serving in the port, including staff of NPA, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Immigrations Service and other agencies, across all port locations in the country.
Apampa appealed to the NPA Management to sustain the collaboration with his group. He requested for increased support in terms of logistics and manpower deployment, whilst assuring the NPA Management of the group’s readiness to provide technical support and training to staff of the Authority, in view of MACN’s affiliation with the World Maritime University.
Meanwhile, the MD said his administration is ready to work collaboratively with the Nigerian Navy to localize modernize training and capacity building aspect of hydrographic survey, for the benefit of the nation’s maritime economy.
Bello koko said this was in consideration with
the remarkable growth in the size and number of merchant ships.
He made this promise when he received the new Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Y. B. Wambai, along with senior officers of the Command, on a courtesy visit to the Authority’s corporate headquarters, Lagos.
While acknowledging the long and cordial relations between the two organizations spanning over a century, Koko assured the new FOC West of the NPA’s unflinching co-operation in the task of protecting the nations’ waterways against inland and coastal threats to safe navigation. The NPA will continue to render the required assistance whenever the need arose, he assured.
The NPA MD expressed his Management’s appreciation for the role played by the Command with respect to the “360 Degrees Security Exercise” that was recently carried out to remove all physical contraptions and unscrupulous human elements identified as security threat around the seaports in Lagos. He informed the FOC that a repeat of the exercise is set to take place in the nearest future, adding that NPA would continue to work jointly with the Command in keeping the port access corridors safe from all types of threats.
Bello Koko applauded the Nigerian Navy on the delivery and commissioning of “NNS LANA”, a modern purpose-built hydrographic research vessel, that would enable the NN perform missions such as oceanographic survey, hydrographic survey, search and rescue (SAR), fishery survey and patrol in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Nigeria. He also commended the Navy for quality manpower development in hydrographic survey for the country.
While lamenting the dearth of qualified hydrographers in the NPA, he expressed optimism that partnering with the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic School would guarantee high level manpower at a lower cost for the Authority, rather than send staff abroad for such training.
Responding to the request for tug boats to support the NN in some of their operations, Koko explained that available options would be considered to assist the Navy, although the NPA currently faces some constraints arising from its contractual relations with a third party service provider.
On the issue of wrecks preventing access to the Defence Jetty along the Lagos Marina, Koko assured the FOC that the Authority would liaise with the Nigerian Maritime Administration (NIMASA) for support to get the wrecks removed, just as the NPA would continue to facilitate berthing spaces for vessels arrested by order of the Court.
Earlier in his remarks, the new FOC West described the courtesy visit to the NPA as customary and necessary to advance the strong bonds of partnership between the two institutions. He expressed on behalf of the Chief of Naval Staff, deep appreciation to the NPA, for the tremendous support provided the NN over the years in its quest to effectively safeguard the country’s territorial waters.
Rear Admiral Wambai informed his host that the quality support enjoyed by the NN from organizations like the NPA in the promotion of safety and security within the Nigerian waters led to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recent declaration of Nigeria as a Piracy Free Country, following no record of incidents at the nation’s port anchorage.
He equally thanked the Authority for making available a land area at Takwa Bay for the Command’s operations. The support provided by the NPA under the Bello-Koko led Management is worthy of emulation, he enthused.
Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko, has reiterated the organization’s commitment to the elimination of systemic corruption and other criminal practices at the nation’s seaports.
He has equally affirmed the Authority’s position to operate in compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) as stipulated in the Nigerian Port Process Manual (NPPM), a project it funded, to enhance operational excellence and service delivery at all Nigerian seaports and terminals.
The MD NPA made these remarks recently when he received members of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) led by Soji Apampa, at the Authority’s head-office in Marina, Lagos, according to a statement from the General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Ibrahim Nasiru.
Koko stated that the NPA Management appreciates the positive being played by the network in partnership with key sister agencies and organizations to create a more friendly environment for doing business in the nation’s maritime industry. He also commended the group for promoting the gains of business integrity and raising awareness on the negative impact of corruption on the country’s image and global rating.
The NPA helmsman expressed delight that the anti-corruption reforms introduced by the Buhari led Federal Government has significantly reduced corrupt and related criminal practices in the Nigerian port and shipping sector.
In his words, “the NPA Management under my watch is happy to note that we are doing well in view of the drop in the incidences of corruption to 5 from over 150 cases when this anti-corruption campaign started. We have seen the progress being recorded in all aspect of port operations as well as revenue into government coffers, it shows that sooner than later, the port industry in Nigeria would become the most attractive maritime cluster in the region, going by our market share and capacity”, he declared.
The MD opined that having achieved and addressed the bottleneck with sailing and berthing of vessels, attention should now be on the ease of cargo clearance at the port and ways of boosting the global competitiveness of the country’s exports. He elaborated that concerted action is needed in order to make cargo clearance simpler, faster and market friendly.
Koko called for better synergy between the critical agencies of government involve in maritime trade in line with the NPPM and the protocols guiding the ease of doing business at the port, as this will bring to an end to long delays in cargo examination, boost the country’s international trade, generate thousands of jobs, increase revenue to government and raise profit of private enterprises.
Leader of the MACN team, Soji Apampa, explained that the purpose of their visit is to intimate the Authority about the achievements recorded, in collaboration with other key stakeholders, to engender zero tolerance to corruption in the port as well as remove opaqueness in port operations in line with international best practice.
He mentioned that the Nigerian port ecosystem has witnessed a positive change in the last three years, as reported demands made by corrupt public officials on ship-masters and shipping agents in the process of vessel clearance has reduced from three to two digits. “The introduction of the SOPs and NNPM has increased the level of transparency around processes to be complied with in Nigerian ports. The introduction of the Port Service Support Portal has also made complaints and grievance handling processes more transparent and effective”.
He further said that his group from 2017 has trained over a thousand personnel serving in the port, including staff of NPA, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Immigrations Service and other agencies, across all port locations in the country.
Apampa appealed to the NPA Management to sustain the collaboration with his group. He requested for increased support in terms of logistics and manpower deployment, whilst assuring the NPA Management of the group’s readiness to provide technical support and training to staff of the Authority, in view of MACN’s affiliation with the World Maritime University.
Meanwhile, the MD said his administration is ready to work collaboratively with the Nigerian Navy to localize modernize training and capacity building aspect of hydrographic survey, for the benefit of the nation’s maritime economy.
Bello koko said this was in consideration with
the remarkable growth in the size and number of merchant ships.
He made this promise when he received the new Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Y. B. Wambai, along with senior officers of the Command, on a courtesy visit to the Authority’s corporate headquarters, Lagos.
While acknowledging the long and cordial relations between the two organizations spanning over a century, Koko assured the new FOC West of the NPA’s unflinching co-operation in the task of protecting the nations’ waterways against inland and coastal threats to safe navigation. The NPA will continue to render the required assistance whenever the need arose, he assured.
The NPA MD expressed his Management’s appreciation for the role played by the Command with respect to the “360 Degrees Security Exercise” that was recently carried out to remove all physical contraptions and unscrupulous human elements identified as security threat around the seaports in Lagos. He informed the FOC that a repeat of the exercise is set to take place in the nearest future, adding that NPA would continue to work jointly with the Command in keeping the port access corridors safe from all types of threats.
Bello Koko applauded the Nigerian Navy on the delivery and commissioning of “NNS LANA”, a modern purpose-built hydrographic research vessel, that would enable the NN perform missions such as oceanographic survey, hydrographic survey, search and rescue (SAR), fishery survey and patrol in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Nigeria. He also commended the Navy for quality manpower development in hydrographic survey for the country.
While lamenting the dearth of qualified hydrographers in the NPA, he expressed optimism that partnering with the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic School would guarantee high level manpower at a lower cost for the Authority, rather than send staff abroad for such training.
Responding to the request for tug boats to support the NN in some of their operations, Koko explained that available options would be considered to assist the Navy, although the NPA currently faces some constraints arising from its contractual relations with a third party service provider.
On the issue of wrecks preventing access to the Defence Jetty along the Lagos Marina, Koko assured the FOC that the Authority would liaise with the Nigerian Maritime Administration (NIMASA) for support to get the wrecks removed, just as the NPA would continue to facilitate berthing spaces for vessels arrested by order of the Court.
Earlier in his remarks, the new FOC West described the courtesy visit to the NPA as customary and necessary to advance the strong bonds of partnership between the two institutions. He expressed on behalf of the Chief of Naval Staff, deep appreciation to the NPA, for the tremendous support provided the NN over the years in its quest to effectively safeguard the country’s territorial waters.
Rear Admiral Wambai informed his host that the quality support enjoyed by the NN from organizations like the NPA in the promotion of safety and security within the Nigerian waters led to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recent declaration of Nigeria as a Piracy Free Country, following no record of incidents at the nation’s port anchorage.
He equally thanked the Authority for making available a land area at Takwa Bay for the Command’s operations. The support provided by the NPA under the Bello-Koko led Management is worthy of emulation, he enthused.
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