The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has commended the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko for his initiatives that cleared the decade-long gridlock on the Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports’ access roads and undermined ease of doing business in the country.
ANLCA made the commendation on Monday, June 10, 2024 when its National President, Emenike Nwokeoji and Chairman of the board, Taiwo Mustapha, led other executives of the association on a working visit to the NPA headquarters in Marina, Lagos.
He noted that it was truly a great feat to have come up with initiatives to eliminate the seemingly intractable gridlock on the Apapa and Tin Can Ports’ roads, which for several years constituted a major clog on the wheel of efficient port operations in the country’s two biggest seaports.
Responding, Mohammed Bello-Koko said: “Breaking the jinx of the age-long gridlock that was causing huge revenue losses and reputational damage to our country was a product of our relentless commitment to doing what is right by entering into open-minded collaborations with the Lagos State Government and other relevant stakeholders.”
Restating the Authority’s commitment to enhancing ease of doing business and deepening Nigeria’s balance of trade through promotion of exports, Bello-Koko further stated: “We are committed to fulfilling the priorities as enunciated in the Presidential/ Ministerial Performance Bond which we signed and to sustain the sanity on the port access roads.
This effort has resulted in the unprecedented increase in export numbers, we have developed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for cargo evacuation, which we would be implementing with renewed vigour going forward to sustain the growth in exports necessary to achieve the national trade surplus required to grow the domestic economy.”
It would be recalled that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its foreign trade report for the first quarter of 2024 released on Sunday, June 8, 2024, highlighted that Nigeria recorded a N6.5 trillion trade surplus between January and March 2024.
The NBS detailed that Nigeria’s exports amounted to N19.1 trillion, while total imports stood at N12.6 trillion, indicating a trade surplus of N6.5 trillion.
A trade surplus is an economic indicator of a positive trade balance in which the exports of a nation outweigh its imports.
PHOTO CAPTION FOR ANLCA STORY
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello- Koko, National President, Association of Nigerian Licens
