The advocacy of Mohammed Bello-Koko-led management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for the decongestion of the ports to pave the way for efficient operations has received a boost as the Federal Government prepares for the evacuation of the overtime cargo occupying spaces at the port.
This is as Magdelene Ajani, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation led an inter-agency team comprising the NPA, Nigeria Customs (NCS) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) on an assessment tour of overtime cargoes littering the Ports.
According to the outcome, the Lagos and Tin-Can Island Port Complexes and the terminals therein including Ikorodu Lighter Terminal have over the years been occupied with 3,200 Units of overtime cars and about 3,295 units of overtime containers respectively, while the eastern ports have a combined total of 956 overtime containers.
Apart from constraining terminal spaces required for seamless cargo handling operations in the ports, the situation has contributed to the deterioration of port infrastructure which are designed as transit locations as opposed to holding dead weight tonnages for years which overtime cargo constitute.
Following the inspection tour which was held on Friday and Saturday 23rd and 24th June respectively, an all-stakeholder sensitisation involving shipping lines, and the association of freight forwarders and clearing agents was convened on Monday 26th June 2023, where it was unanimously agreed that all cargoes and container that have overstayed their required time at the Ports should be auctioned “in-situ” (In their current locations) and removed immediately from the Ports.
To assure transparency and inclusiveness, the modalities to govern the auction process will be finalized by all stakeholders, after a similar sensitization meeting with stakeholders in the eastern ports of Warri, Rivers, Onne and Calabar.
Recall that Bello-Koko had at several forums sought the cooperation of the NCS to ensure speedy removal of overtime cargo from the Ports and terminal yards to free up space and preserve the durability of the capital-intensive port infrastructure.
