Port Concession Has Failed To Address Infrastructural Decay In Nigeria – Segun Musa

A former gubernatorial candidate of Lagos State, Dr. Segun Musa has described port concession as a curse to blue economy development mostly as it affects infrastructural decay and automation.

 

Muse who is a  chieftain of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) disclosed this at a forum held in Lagos recently.

He called on the government to woo foreign investors in furtherance to encourage global participation in port and terminal operations, adding that most of the concessionaires failed to invest as contained in the agreement.

Dr. Musa appealed to the Tinubu led administration to sanction and revoke licenses of any erring concessionaire who failed to provide amenities for services render pointing out that  project “Blue Economy can only thrive when infrastructure are available.

He reiterated that lack of investment by some of the concessionaires have dragged the industry backward in  port operations adding that most of the facilities are under comatose as at when they were inherited  back in 2006.

According to him, most of the terminal operators are not automated harping for an holistic approach towards ensuring a seamless operations.

He lamented that despite the reduction of government agencies at the ports, the existing synergy by the sister agencies, there are issues of delay in cargo clearance.

Dr.” Musa noted that “Terminals with dilapidated infrastructure should be given mandate to fix them and if you don’t do it, you will be sanctioned.

“The concessionaires can engage the private sector if they don’t have the resources to fix the dilapidated infrastructure.

“We must have policy for blue economy because it is just a litmus test. We need to have a holistic policy drive because we have very bad infrastructure and 50 percent of the revenue generated from the concession was supposed to be ploughed back into the infrastructure

“If you visit Apapa or Tin Can, we will see things that are not different from what it used to be before concession.

“The agencies operate based on their orientation and research because there is no policy drive. The port is used as litmus test.

‘Today, the concessionaires are more interested in maximising revenue and the scheme is diminishing within that confine that is why if you position your container, only few will be examined.

He also decried poor data management by the concessionaires noting that inadequate analysis of automation would further hinder progress of the blue economy.

“Data infrastructure investment is key . We have to look for a way to collate our data aside the financial gains we make from the system.

“You don’t have to go to the agencies to carry out your registration, everything should have been holistically automated so that you can sit in the comfort of your home to transact your business.

“Once you are able to meet up with the terms and your documentations are verified, there will be e-release and you also go online to get a truck to help move the cargo.”

 

By Roland Ekama