A port operator, Mr Jimoh Umar, has urged Alhaji Habib Abdullahi, the new Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), to work toward connecting the nation’s ports with rail lines.
Umar, the President, Senior Staff Association of Communications, Transport and Corporation, NPA branch, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.
“The new managing director should expedite action on the ongoing rail project because it would help in decongesting the ports and accelerate the rate of clearing and forwarding at the ports,” he said.
Umar suggested that the rail project should include the dry ports within the six geopolitical zones.
The union leader said that the rail project, when completed, had the potential to generate employment, create wealth and reduce the cost of road repairs by the government.
He said that the new NPA management should rehabilitate infrastructure at the ports and expedite action on revenue generation and collection.
“NPA is not only meant for Nigerians alone; it is also meant to be the hub for West African countries and the landlocked countries.
“The new management should put in place necessary machinery to achieve the hub in the maritime industry in West Africa.
“Before this time, countries like Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso, which are landlocked, ship their goods through Nigeria; we want this era to come back,” Umar said.
He pledged the workers’ support to the new managing director to move the nation’s ports forward, saying that Abdullahi “knows the nitty-gritty of the NPA’s management needs”.
Umar urged the managing director to accord priority to the training and retraining of the workers, adding: “This is the key to the development of any organisation.”
