Nigerian Ports Authority boss says militancy is driving shippers away from Niger Delta ports

NIGERIA Ports Authority (NPA) managing director Hajia Hadiza Usman has called on the coastal communities in the eastern part of the country to ensure security and reduce restiveness among their youths in order to attract badly needed investment into their areas.

Speaking yesterday at the Nigeria Port Consultative Council meeting in Lagos, Hajia Usman identified the lack of infrastructure as one of the factors responsible for low cargo throughput in eastern ports. She singled out insecurity, depth of the ports and roads and rail infrastructure in states where these ports are located and link roads to warehouses within and out of the area as the main challenges they faced.

According to Hajia Usman, for the eastern ports to attract cargo, there must be improvement on infrastructure that would aid port transaction in the zone. Currently, the bulk of Nigeria's cargo goes through the over-worked Apapa port in Lagos, with shippers shunning eastern ports like Port Harcourt and Calabar,

Hajia Usman said: “There is no need for shippers to en-route their cargoes to places where they will find it difficult to reach their warehouses and end users. There has been this issue of restiveness in the area and no investor will like to toy with his or her goods, hence the prefer Lagos ports where security is guaranteed unlike in the eastern ports.

“Calabar port is strategically located to be able to service the northeast and the northwest but the link roads to the area from Calabar is bad. Articulated vehicles cannot ply the route."

She appealed to the relevant government agencies responsible for infrastructure-related development to assist the authority in the provision of the needed infrastructure for smooth cargo operations in the zone. Hajia Usman assured investors that the authority was working in partnership with the Nigerian Navy and the Marine Police to restore sanity on Nigerian waters.