By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Both the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) have pledged to implement the Nigerian Port Sector Manual recently launched to clean up port operations.
ICPC Chairman Bolaji Owasanoye told journalists in Abuja that the Commission will implement the manual, which provides simplified step-by-step instructions to help port users carry out routine operations.
Owasanoye, represented by ICPC spokesperson Azuka Ogugua reiterated that there would be consequences for government officials who violate Standard Operating Procedures at the ports.
“We are working with Nigeria Shippers’ Council, Nigerian Ports Authority and the Department of State Security, to fully enforce the port process manual,” he said.
He emphasised that when staff of government agencies and port operators adhere to the manual, it would block corruption loopholes and boost the economy.
According to him, a Ports Standing Task Team comprising stakeholders has been deployed at the Lagos Ports and would soon be deployed at the Port Harcourt Ports to ensure compliance.
The mandate of the team includes monitoring, sting operations based on intelligence, and prosecution of offenders.
Owasanoye stressed that the project is a collaborative one and urged all hands to be on deck to ensure cleaner ports.
NSC Chief Executive Officer, Hassan Bello, decried the lack of coordination between government agencies at the ports, which he said fuels corruption.
Technology to the rescue
Besides obsolete equipment which makes the Ease of Doing Business policy of the government difficult, he added, the physical/analogue conduct of business at the ports by agencies is costing Nigeria dearly.
“We have been struggling at the ports. The ports have been riddled with too much corruption, some of the laws governing operations are not transparent, the equipment are relics and we are still doing many things manually. These fall short of the global best practices,” Owasanoye lamented.
In his view, a viable port system requires full use of technology and government port agencies conducting joint boarding and joint examination of vessels.
He said the NSC will ensure the pruning down of agencies that board vessels on arrival from nine to five, as well as reducing berthing time to the barest minimum.
His words: “We want joint boarding and joint examination of vessels. It will cut down sharp practices and corruption. It should be about NIMASA, Immigration, Port Health Services and NDLEA, and not all-comers affairs anymore.
“The more you clear ships quickly, the more they come, and that means more money for the country. The era when people walked leisurely into the ports to carry out examinations of vessels is over.”
Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Comptroller General, Hammed Ali, complained that importers have turned the ports into warehouses.
Ali, represented by Assistant Comptroller General, H. Gummi, expressed concern that Nigeria is fast becoming a transit destination for illicit drugs and the Customs will introduce hitech to curb all forms of illegal activities at the ports.
His disclosed that over 4,000 containers are abandoned at the ports, causing a nuisance to operators, and the NCS subscribes fully to the joint boarding and examination of vessels proposed by the NSC.
The press briefing was also attended by officials from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Technical Unit on Governance & Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR), and other stakeholders.