Ms Hadiza Usman, the new Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has revealed that the new management will strive for enhanced operational efficiency for improved revenue generation and inflows into the national treasury. Usman stated this at the handover ceremony between her immediate predecessor, Mallam Habib Abdullahi, in Lagos.
According to her, “The ports are the critical arteries of the economy and it is our duty to ensure that the operators deliver ports services in line with the standards deserved in the 21st century.”
She said that the new management would support President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda of economic diversity.
“We will listen to our customers, importers and exporters and other agencies working in the ports to improve on our service delivery to the nation. Anything less than a world class service is simply not acceptable,” she pledged.
Attaining such height is the mission to which we can all subscribe. As the team leader, I have come to add my best efforts to yours so that we can collectively achieve result for our industry. We must work as a team, pursuing common goals with professionalism and diligence,” she added.
She added that the new management would prioritize investments in primary equipment and infrastructure and services with commitment to fulfilling NPA’s concession agreement to hasten clearance of imports and exports from the ports. She noted that collectively, the hard work of staff would position NPA as a modern agency.
“To function as regulator, all of us at NPA must be committed to the highest standards of performance. Let us uphold the most diligent work ethics in our individual beats as well as collective undertaking to achieve result. Everyone at the NPA has a role in promoting best practices in upholding good governance, standards and delivering quality services,” Ms Usman added.
She also emphasized her commitment against graft saying “We would jointly work hard with integrity and zero-tolerance for corruption.”
As the new management settles down to business, we would be listening to your concerns and suggestions as we navigate the best options for effectively discharging the NPA’s mandate.
“I hope and I believe we would jointly work together as one family to achieve our mandate,” she said.
In his speech, the former Managing Director, Habib Abdullahi said that since July 2012, when the management came on board, it had recorded modest achievements.
He said the NPA under his leadership was able to achieve automation of operational processes, infrastructural development, Greenfield and brown field developments coupled with a strong port community system.
He explained that the outgoing management also built strong human resources through training and retraining.
“In five years’ time, more than 50 per cent of the top managers will be out and presently they are on the average 55 years old. These are from senior managers to general managers and this is quite challenging,” he said.
He urged the new NPA management to come up with succession scheme to ensure that the younger ones take over.
The outgoing NPA boss said his administration was proud of putting in place the Command Control and Intelligence Unit, adding that the administration also installed the e-payment system.
He added that his administration automated the payment systems to create room for transparency.
“We also automated the Ship Entry Notice to enhance transparency,” he said.
Abdullahi said that his administration integrated NPA’s operations with other stakeholders like the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to serve as a platform to block all revenue leakages.
“We also dredged and maintained the water channels for smooth navigation. Nearly 60 per cent of our revenue goes into dredging and we tried as much as possible to buy tug boats,” he said..
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