Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global trade and supply chain logistics, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) generated N256.28 billion between January and September this year.

With this, the agency has exceeded its target revenue for the period by 120 per cent.

According to documents presented by the Authority’s Acting Managing Director, Mohammed Bello Koko, to the House of Representatives Committee on Ports and Habours recently, the NPA has also reduced its operating expenses by 20 per cent of its budget for this year.

In the NPA Managing Director’s presentation to the Committee, as at the end of September 2021, the Authority earned N256.28 billion in IGR as against the expected N214.65 billion (approved estimate N271.70bn) for the same period, representing a performance of 120 per cent or 95 per cent of its total annual budget for 2021.

For operating expenses, as of the end of September 2021, actual spending stood at N55.1 billion as against the budgeted figure of N65.49 billion, comprising employees’ benefits, pension costs, towage services, supplies, repairs and maintenance, and other administrative overheads.

This indicates a savings of N10.39 billion or 85 per cent performance of the approved budget of N87.32 billion.

Furthermore, in compliance with the quarterly remittance of its operating surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and provisions of the Finance Act 2020, the Authority has remitted the sum of N62.66bn to CRF for the year 2021 as of October 31, 2021, while a cumulative sum of N89.9 billion has been transferred to the CRF in the last six months.

At the current state of increased revenue drive, it is projected that the Authority will exceed its 2021 revenue projections and the projected transfer to the CRF for the year 2021 which is expected to be over N80 billion, which would be the highest in the history of the Authority.

This impressive revenue performance achieved by the Bello Koko-led Management of the Authority, which has been in office for only six months, has been highly applauded by industry stakeholders.

The NPA’s helmsman informed the House Committee that contrary to news reports insinuating that Nigerian ports are the most expensive in the sub-region, a study commissioned by the Authority with the support of UKAid in 2019, indicated that it is cheaper for general and container vessels to berth in Nigeria than in Ghana or Togo.

He explained that a huge chunk of what shippers or cargo owners spend to clear their consignments include terminal and freight charges paid to terminal operators and shipping companies, payments for customs duty, inspection services, haulage, insurance, and other sundry trade levies and fees, which are outside the purview of the Authority.

“Aside from the towage dues which were reviewed in 2015, Port tariffs in Nigeria have remained the same since 1993,” he said.

Following his assumption of office in May this year, the Acting Managing Director has taken deliberate steps to reposition the Authority to focus on cost-optimization and quality service delivery while maximizing business value for port operators and users.

Accordingly, the Bello Koko-led Management has focused on improving the overall efficiency of the country’s port industry.

To support the economic diversification agenda of the Federal Government through the promotion of non-oil exports, the Authority has partnered with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) for the establishment of the third party dedicated export terminals or export parks to be located in Lagos and Ogun states.

The initiative is aimed at the processing, packaging, and certification of exports under a one-stop platform that houses all relevant agencies responsible for quality control and regulatory validation of exports before shipment.

The objective is to enhance and fast-track Nigerian export cargo for shipment at the export parks without any further port clearance protocol.

A pilot project has been established at the Lillypond Container Terminal in Lagos, while 10 other exports terminals are in the process of being certified to begin operations by 1st quarter of 2022.