The Managing Director (MD) of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has commenced moves to firm up discussion with members of Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) on regional collaboration.

One of those moves is his recent visit to the Lagos office of PMAWCA in Apapa.

The visit was part of efforts at ensuring that all the ports in West and Central Africa become highly competitive.

Dantsoho, who also doubles as the Chairman of PMAWCA has started to take concrete steps towards meeting his outlined goals before the end of the year.

The visit was part of efforts to rally the team towards actualizing the overarching objective of cooperation and integration for regional ports’ competitiveness.

During the visit, Dr. Dantsoho, worked directly with the staff at the PMAWCA Secretariat.

Dantsoho’s emergence as the Chairman of PMAWCA came at a time the association was yearning for purposeful leadership that would stare the ship to its right direction.

Reaffirming what was contained in his acceptance speech, he stated that the Nigerian government is committed to a revolutionary turnaround of Nigeria’s maritime industry in line with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda in the industry with a focus on port rehabilitation and modernisation, infrastructure, digitisation and automation.

These measures, he added, would undoubtedly boost operational efficiency as well as revenue generation, while augmenting the federal government’s efforts to diversify the economy by boosting non-oil exports.

To him, his emergence is more of an honour and privilege to serve as its chairman.

He also promised to sustain the momentum established by his predecessor, Mr. Martin Boguikuoma Managing Director of Gabon Ports Authority and to continue to put all efforts needed in order to further consolidate the economic cohesion of the region and to actualize the interests of member ports .

While calling for collaboration among member states, he said it is only through robust commitment and collaboration that his mandate can be achieved.