LAGOS, JULY 13, 2016 – The Chairman, Port Consultative Council (PCC), Chief Kunle Folarin, on Wednesday advised the new Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Usman, to ensure passage of the Ports & Harbour Bill.Folarin gave the advice in an interview in Lagos.
Usman, 40, was appointed on Tuesday by the Federal Government as the managing director of NPA.
The PCC chairman said that there was the need to look at the enabling legislation guiding NPA.
Folarin noted that for 10 years, the bill (Ports & Harbour Bill) had been in the National Assembly without being passed into law.
He urged the new managing director to get the bill out of the National Assembly and ensure its transformation into a law.
The bill has been in the National Assembly for years with each successive legislative assembly failing to pass it into law.
The bill, which is at various stages of passage in the lower and upper chambers of the National Assembly, has provisions for various aspects of port operations, especially the roles and responsibilities of key players in the nation’s seaports.
The maritime economist urged the new managing director to implement the landlord model of port operations.
Folarin said that after concession, the landlord model should be implemented.
He said that since the NPA was no longer handling cargoes, the new NPA boss should focus on infrastructure development of the ports, technical regulation, improvement of maritime security and the development of Green Fields,
Folarin also stressed the need to develop a good port master plan.
A former President of Women International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA, Nigeria), Mrs Jean Chiazor-Anishere, said the appointment of Usman was a welcome development for having another female chief executive officer of maritime industry, after the former Director- General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mrs Mfong Usoro.
She said that on behalf of African Women in Maritime and in her capacity as the first Vice-President, she applauded and appreciated the appointment of Usman.
Chiazor-Anishere, also a maritime lawyer, applauded the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Transportation, Mr Chibueke Amaechi, for encouraging a female entrepreneur in the country.
“This is encouraging to us female entrepreneurs, particularly as we mark this month of July as the month set aside by the AU for African Women Empowerment.
“Although she is not our industry person but her sterling profile, particularly with regard to Business Administration is our comfort zone.
“It is hoped that she would take NPA to the next level and I wish her and her new team all the best, ’’ she said
The President of WISTA, Nigeria, Mrs Mary Hamman, urged the new managing director to study the industry and seek advice from experienced maritime expert to enable her deliver.
Hamman said that the maritime industry was a large industry, adding that she should stand her ground and not allow pressure from any quarter to derail her.
The President of the Shippers Association Lagos State, Mr Jonathan Nicol, said the appointment was in the right direction.
Nicol urged the new managing director to improve on what her predecessor had done.
The Acting Chairman, Society of Nigerian Mariners, Mr Olu Akinsoji said that mariners would wait to see the effect of the change.
Akinsoji, a former Government Inspector of Ships, said that, “A lot of work is expected of the new NPA boss’’.
According to him, the industry appears wealthy but offers very poor services that required changes.
