BPE pledges support to Shippers’ Council as economic regulator

The director general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Benjamin Dikki, has reiterated the bureau’s commitment to ensuring that the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) was empowered to carry out its assignment as the new economic regulator for the port sector.

According to a media statement signed by Chigbo Anichebe, head, public communications of BPE, and sent to BusinessDay, Dikki said the bureau had always believed that one of the major challenges of ports reform was the absence of a regulator for the sector as a result and had advocated for an interim regulator pending the passage of the Ports and Harbour Bill currently before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval.

He made this known last week when Hassan Bello, executive secretary of the council, and his management team paid him a courtesy call in Abuja.

Dikki expressed the hope that the seven reform bills before FEC would be approved and passed to the National Assembly for enactment before the end of the current legislative calendar. The BPE boss also challenged the new interim regulator to improve the efficiency at the ports and redirect traffic away from the neighbouring ports to the Nigerian ports.

In his brief, Bello assured that the automation of the ports operation was critical to ensuring efficiency in the ports operation and improving the economic regulation of the port system.

He said the council was in the process of developing procedures to ensure operators introduce modern and efficient processes, including reduction of manual processes and improved work-flow system to make Nigerian ports competitive.

“Shippers’ Council as economic regulator will promote equity of access to port facilities and services, exercise economic regulation of the ports system in line with government strategic objectives to promote fair trading practices and support the development of the ports,” he assured.