The new Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr. Abubakar Dantsoho has unveiled what he will do in office as the helmsman of the multi-billion government parasatal.
Dantsoho who had hitherto occupied various positions in NPA, including Port Manager, Onne Port Complex, Rivers State was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a fortnight ago.
In the same vein, Tinubu also approved the appointment of Senator Adedayo Adeyeye as Chairman of the Board of NPA.
Dantsoho and Adeyeye’s appointment were contained in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale.
Apparently giving an insight into what he will do in office as he took the reins of office at NPA Headquarters, Marina, Lagos recently, Dantsoho said his main goal is to reposition the organisation for increased productivity, greater efficiency and improved revenue generation.
Amidst applause from his close aides and staff of the authority who were on ground to witness the handover ceremony at NPA headquarters, Marina, Lagos, he promised to “work tirelessly” to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance overall user experience at the nation’s seaports.
His words: “As we embark on this journey together, I wish to seize this opportunity to state that our main goal is to reposition the organisation for increased productivity and greater efficiency for improved revenue generation to the authority and country. We must rise up to the intense competition we face from our neighbours. We must work tirelessly to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the overall user experience in our ports.
“I am confident that our predetermined objectives can be achieved through our collective efforts, so collaboration and teamwork will be the cornerstone of our success. I challenge you to come with me on this journey. Let me assure you that we will aim to pay closer attention to staff welfare by ensuring timely payment of emoluments, compensations and addressing issues of training and capacity development particularly for deserving employees who add value in their areas of deployment”.
While stating that he will continue NPA digital transformation and reinforce the current efforts at deploying the Port Community System (PCS), he revealed that the government agency will pay attention to the logistics surrounding the arrival of cargoes along the nation’s seaports corridor.
Continuing, he said: “We will reward hard work and develop leadership for the future stability of the Nigerian Ports Authority. We will continue the digital transformation of the Authority and reinforce the current efforts at deploying the Port Community System (PCS) which we believe is key to our dream of total automation of our processes, thereby eliminating leakages and corruption.
“The current efforts towards infrastructure renewal and development will be enhanced. In particular, we will drive port rehabilitation and modernisation; we will pay attention to the logistics that surround the arrival of cargoes along the port corridor, their receipt at the terminals and loading onboard ships in the most efficient way and also cargo evacuation from our ports; deep sea ports development, in order to unlock the full potential of the Nigerian economy.
“On the promotion of transparency, accountability and ease of doing business in our ports, we shall enhance collaboration and communication between sister agencies and promote stakeholder engagement. In this regard, we will begin engagement with terminal operators and shipping lines as primary recipients of our services to feel their pulse and thereafter other stakeholders to seek greater cooperation and collaboration”.
