By Mercy Gadia Adi
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has said Abuja’s central position and rich agro-allied potential are critical to strengthening the Authority’s commitment to supporting the Federal Government’s drive to grow non-oil revenue.
Speaking during the “NPA Special Day” at the Abuja International Trade Fair, Dantsoho said the location of the Federal Capital was strategic to the Authority’s renewed trade facilitation focus, which prioritizes port-hinterland connectivity.
“The centrality of Abuja accentuates a seamless linkage with the comparative advantages inherent in all regions of the federation that can be harnessed to sustain growth in the volume and value of Nigeria’s exports,” he said.
He noted that as Nigeria’s foremost trade facilitation platform, the Authority was proud to identify with the fair, adding that trade remained “the most veritable tool for actualizing most of Nigeria’s economic aspirations.”
Dantsoho used the occasion to invite the trading and investing public to take advantage of the Authority’s simplified export processes. He said NPA established Export Processing Terminals (EPTs) to ease the previously cumbersome procedures of moving Nigerian goods abroad.
“The EPTs serve as a one-stop shop for cargo consolidation, stuffing, documentation, packaging, certification and onward shipment through electronic call-up to the Ports in quick turnaround time. This eliminates the duplications and bureaucratic overlaps that previously rendered Nigerian exports uncompetitive in the international marketplace,” he explained.
According to him, the EPTs are structured to connect with Domestic Export Warehouses (DEWs) in partnership with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Inland Dry Ports, thereby creating more opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to enter the export value chain.
To align with the Federal Government’s economic stabilization efforts and the theme of this year’s fair, “Sustainability: Consumption, Incentives and Taxation,” Dantsoho said NPA is unifying its operational channels into a singular transaction gateway known as the Ports Community System (PCS).
He explained that the PCS would lay the foundation for the implementation of the National Single Window (NSW), which he described as the global best practice for streamlining trade processes by connecting all stakeholders in the value chain “for seamless interaction at the push of a button.”
“We have put measures in place to link value creators in the remotest part of the hinterland with the farthest clusters of demand anywhere on the globe,” Dantsoho said, while assuring stakeholders that the doors of NPA remain open for partnerships beyond the trade fair.
He further urged businesses and exporters to explore opportunities on the Authority’s fully interactive real-time website, www.nigerianports.gov.ng.