The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) assured the global investment community on Thursday that it will continue to promote the ease of doing business at the nation’s seaports to optimise the potential inherent in the nation’s blue economy.
This was disclosed by the managing director of NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, on Thursday against the backdrop of the maiden call of the first wholly Nigerian-owned Container Vessels ‘MV Ocean Dragon’ in Onne Ports Complex, Rivers State.
The NPA boss said the first wholly Nigerian-owned Container Vessel, MV Ocean Dragon, signposts the seriousness of Nigeria’s commitment to the dictates of the International Association for Ports and Harbours (IAPH) on multi-modalism and seamless Port-Hinteland Connectivity.
Dantsoho said that with shipping volumes promising to get higher, forward-looking investments such as the Clarion Shipping acquisition will have a big impact on the nation’s economy in the long run.
“I want to congratulate everyone of us and to assure the global investment community that the Nigerian Ports Authority under the supervision of the investor-friendly Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, will continue to galvanize stakeholder efforts to continuously promote the ease of doing business all in a concerted bid to optimize the rich blue economy inherent in our maritime endowments.
Apart from the high loading capacity of 349 TEUs and several other distinctive features of this vessel, we are fascinated that MV Ocean Dragon is wholly Nigerian, which speaks to the Renewed Hope “Nigeria first” policy of President Bola Tinubu and the NPA’s renewed orientation towards Nigerian content development.
“The very fact that this vessel which can move thousands of Gross Registered Tonnages across African destinations within days, signposts the seriousness of Nigeria’s commitment to the dictates of International Association for Ports and Harbours (IAPH) on multi-modalism and seamless Port-Hinteland Connectivity gives us great delight as it supports the rationale behind NPA’s simplified export processes through the Export Processing Terminals (EPTs) to link local producers of value in the remotest hinterland to the farthest international centres of demand.”
Dantsho stated further that the authority’s port modernisation project and ongoing reform initiatives were cognizant of the need to sustain the enabling business environment in the nation’s seaport.
“Let me seize this moment to reiterate that the Authority’s port modernisation project and ongoing reform initiatives around our Port Operations are cognizant of the need to sustain the enabling business environment that midwifed the year-on-year attainment of national trade surpluses.
“Coming on the heels of increasing growth in Nigeria’s transhipment figures from the Lekki Deep Seaport and the expansion in external goods trade reported by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) thus far for 2025, the coming on stream of MV Ocean Dragon to propel even greater volumes symbolizes the fact that the Nigerian business environment is progressively getting better.
“With shipping volumes promising to get higher, forward-looking investments such as the one we are gathered here to celebrate will certainly have a big impact in the long run,” he stated.
