Emmanuel OchayiPresident Bola Tinubu has called for urgent interventions in the area of cargo evacuation at African ports during the 43rd annual council meeting of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa held in Lagos on Monday.
Under the theme, ‘The role of ports in the African Continental Free Trade Area,’ Tinubu emphasized the pressing need for seamless cargo evacuation as a major challenge faced by ports across the continent.
He stated, “After the issues of adequate security and transparency, one other important factor deciding the competitiveness of ports is the seamlessness and efficiency with which cargoes are evacuated to and from the ports. This, without doubt, is an area in which port operations in Africa need a lot of intervention.”
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Represented at the event by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, the President disclosed ongoing discussions between Nigeria and other African countries regarding the necessity to invest in port infrastructure to support trade facilitation.
Tinubu asserted, “Meetings like this put the issues in proper perspectives and serve as avenues for the generation of ideas that would aid our national governments to formulate effective policies.”
He also highlighted the importance of full automation, stating, “We are persuaded that full automation is the only way to go if we plan to remain competitive in the global maritime industry.”
This call for automation and infrastructure investment underscores the commitment of the federal government to enhance port operations and bolster the competitiveness of African ports in the global maritime industry.
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