The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Barr. Akutah Pius, MON has identified the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy as one of the pivotal ministries critical for the actualization of the national Gross Domestic Product.
Barr. Akutah stated this when he led the NSC’s management on a courtesy visit to Tin-Can Island Container Terminal (TICT) and Port and Cargo Handling Services (PCHS) in Lagos, recently.
The NSC boss added that the Federal Government is planning to come up with policy documents which would boost efficiency, aid automation, as well as addressing other anomalies at the nation’s seaports.
“His Excellency President Bola Tinubu in October 2023 set a target of increasing the nations GDP to a trillion by 2026 and increasing it to $3trillion by the end of the decade in 2030”, he said.
Barr. Akutah was optimistic that going forward things would change holistically, checking points would be addressed and steps would be taken in all directions to improve the port efficiency.
In his response, the Managing Director, Tin-Can Island Port Terminal (TICT), Mr. Etienne Rocher said the rehabilitation and modernization of ports were critical to meeting the requirements that would attract shipping lines and make Nigeria a regional maritime hub in West and Central Africa.
Rocher attributed poor access roads as one of the obstacles hindering the ease of doing business at the ports, noting that a number of containers handled by the terminal have drastically reduced due to congestion.
In a related development, Barr. Akutah Pius also paid a courtesy visit to Port and Cargo Handling Services in Lagos as part of his tour to operators.
The NSC boss applauded Port and Cargo Handling Services for the impact that the operator has had on the nation’s maritime sector.
Barr. Akutah said that PCHS has maintained its status as the foremost indigenous terminal operator in the country and has made everybody proud with the way it is running its operations.
The Managing Director, Port and Cargo Handling Services (PCHS), John Jenkins thanked Barr. Akutah Pius and other members of Council’s management team for the visit.
Jenkins hinted that the terminal is willing to collaborate with NSC to achieve the vision of Nigeria’s President.
Also speaking, the Executive Director, Administrations, Port and Cargo Handling Services, Capt. Ibraheem Olugbade placed efficiency at the fore front in its operations in the country.
