Just last week, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, announced that it has secured necessary approvals for an upward review in its tariffs which was last reviewed in the year 1993.

The Managing Director took out time to explain the gains which the new tariff regime would bring to the nation’s port system.

The 15% increase which is to cut across all NPA Rates and Dues is premised on the urgent need to address the undesirable reality of aged and weak infrastructure, obsolete equipment and slow Port capacity expansion which has continued to diminish the performance and indeed competitiveness of Nigerian Ports.

The NPA boss explained that the Authority’s management was actually compelled by the exigency of bringing Nigerian Ports up to speed with those of its peers in terms of infrastructure and equipment.

It would be recalled that the Authority has been battling with aged port facilities and how to rehabilitate the existing ones to sustain operations at the nation’s seaports.

From its collapsing quay walls, the Authority feels that there is an urgent need to focus more on rehabilitating the quay walls of the port.

When Dantsoho became the MD of NPA, he undertook a holistic review of the decaying parts of the ports.

Right from the beginning, Dantsoho did not hide his desire to make the nation’s seaports work.

If anything should happen as a result of its inability to rehabilitate the quay, the impact of its collapse will affect its adjourning communities such as Snake Island, Niger Dock, and Takwa Bay.

Globally, Port Authorities depend on revenue from operations to stay alive to their responsibilities which include construction and maintenance of Port infrastructure, dredging of channels, provision of aids for safe navigation, provision of modern marine crafts for efficient harbour services, automation and digitization of port transactions, port security, energy efficiency and training and retraining of its employees.

The global index of Port rating and competitiveness which the international trade community relies on for its choice of countries to do business with, derives its data from how well the aforementioned responsibilities are addressed.

Coming at this period of global economic upheaval and scramble for markets, the belated Tariff review, according to the authority, is borne out of necessity.

Maritime experts strongly believe that tariff hike constitutes a critical success factor in Nigeria’s quest to win back cargo handling business and its accompanying benefits including job opportunities it had lost to its maritime neighbors.

Contrary to the popular but erroneous notion that attributes high Port costs to NPA relative to its peers, verifiable data shows NPA Tariffs are amongst the lowest in the region.

The high incidence of un-receipted costs due to unduly high human interface, bureaucratic bottlenecks, functional overlaps resulting from absence of a Port Community System (PCS) and its corollary, the National Single Window (NSW) are responsible for this contrived falsehood.

Highlighting some of the quick wins of the tariff review, Dantsoho states that although it is long overdue, it will become a quick win benefits for stakeholders.

“Some of the immediate boost it will give to the Authority is that it would fast track the commencement of actual works on its concluded Port reconstruction and modernization plans.

“Secondly, the Tariff review provides the necessary guarantees to fund the acquisition and urgent deployment of the Information Communications Technology (ICT) backbone of the PCS which is the precursor to the implementation of the NSW.

“Furthermore, the increased revenue generation arising from the review buoys the Authority’s capacity for critical maintenance works to open up the Eastern Ports for increased vessel and cargo traffic such as the reconstruction of collapsed Escravos Breakwaters and challenged aspects of Rivers, Onne and Calabar Ports respectively,” he added.

Speaking at the meeting, Joshua Asanga, a stakeholder agreed with the increase, adding that the value of NPA present tariff has since been suppressed by Inflation which is at about 35% .

Asanga listed port management liabilities like wages, fuel and other areas of expenditure as having adjusted upwards without a commensurate rise in NPA charges for over thirty years.

He added that NPA needs funds for improved port infrastructure, robust ICT for Port Community System, procurement of tug boats and other operational platforms to achieve efficiency

Another stakeholder, Demian Ukagu, who spoke at the event spoke on the need to apply more NPA funding to outer port facilities and jetties like the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal and development of other critical port facilities across the country.

He added that NPA rates should be able to cover these cost that would guarantee minimum return on investment and promote sustainable trade.

The meeting agreed that existing tariffs were set devoid of capital cost, labour cost, consumables and overhead expenditures needed to run the ports.

They feared that keeping the ports on the old tariff would promote consequences like poor service, inadequate infrastructure, poor remuneration, obsolete critical port facilities, equipment and infrastructure.