FG takes step to boost revenue generation at ports

As revenue from oil and gas sector plummets, the Federal Government is pushing to ensure that it maximises revenue generation from the maritime industry, as it has taken step to block leakages that have made the nation lose huge sums of money from unwholesome practices at the ports.

Consequently, a project aimed at improving the country’s port operations tagged Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Ports Service Support Services Portal (PSSP) was launched on Thursday in Abuja, with a view to creating a user-friendly business environment for greater economic performance at the ports.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who unveiled the project, said it was a key component of the administration’s change agenda, saying it would enhance transparency, accountability at the ports as well as boost revenue generation.

“Key anti-corruption agencies, development partners and critical port agencies worked separately at first and later collaboratively on the mandate of making Nigerian ports efficient and user friendly by implementing an integrity plan they agreed upon on behalf of Nigerians,” Osinbajo said.

Experts have over the time raised the alarm that Nigeria has been bleeding financially as a result of under declaration of goods at the ports.

But the Vice President is optimistic that the automation of the policy will rid the ports of unwholesome practices and make them more competitive by pushing its anti-corruption and economic diversification drive to a logical conclusion.

“This project I believe, has address the issues of joint boarding of vessels, joint examination of cargoes and empty container return among others. We will like to see operations of international maritime organisation (IMO) conventions and that irregularities by agencies at the ports, especially those that desire to board vessels unnecessarily are completely restrained,” he said.

In the face of dwindling oil revenue, the Vice President said, “the Federal Government is more than ever determined to prevent leakages, remove impediments to trade and investments. A key component of this administration’s change agenda is the involvement of a diversified non-oil sector economy, and to achieve this, the ports must play their role”.

Earlier, Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation explained that the SOP and PSSP became imperative following a report of key anti-corruption agencies such as Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), and Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-corruption Reforms (TUGAR) that carried out a corruption risk assessment of the port sector sequel to complaints on corrupt practices at Nigerian ports from a global network of operators in the sectors Maritime Anti-corruption Network (MACN) also provided added impetus.

KENNETH AZAHAN