Uche Usim, Abuja
In a concerted effort aimed at addressing various infractions at seaports across the country, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) has pledged to deepen their collaboration, especially in awareness creation.
The partnership will also ensure that complaints lodged at the Port Service Support Portal (PSSP) are quickly and effectively resolved in order to make Nigerian ports attractive and globally competitive
Speaking at a stakeholders conference on service delivery coordinated by the Chief Executive Officer of Integrity Organisation Limited, Mr. Soji Apampa, in Abuja, representatives of various maritime agencies and port stakeholders said there was need for all port users to use the portal for improved ease of doing business, increased GDP and effective service delivery.
The Deputy Director, Head of Complaints Unit, of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Mr. Moses Fadipe, said the portal since establishment in 2016 has recorded only 400 cases, adding that the hit is low arising from the low awareness of the portal.
On what may have accounted for the low patronage of the portal, he said: “Prior to the establishment of PSSP, there were other platforms like Whatsapp, SMS and email that operators were using and so most of them are still glued to those platforms.
We receive about 30 mails per day on complaints which translates to 1000 per month and if PSSP is just recording about 400 since 2016 that means that the awareness is very low.’’
According to him, people are often ready to shift or they are more comfortable with the existing platforms, adding: “that is why we said that the awareness has to be popped up because it is from the PSSP that you can get the size of the industry infractions as a one-stop-shop.”
He called for greater transparency and the adoption of the right procedures in communication, enforcement and resolution of issues.
In his remarks, the Director-General of NIMASA, Mr. Peterside Dakuku, who was represented by Capt David Oboma, said both the private and public players need more information which the portal provides.