Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello, on Saturday describedabsence of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) monitor or supervisor as a major challenged to efficiency of seaports.
Explaining further at a virtual NSC management meeting, Bello said emphasized the critical role of Port Service Support Portal (PSSP), Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Process Manual on Port Operations in Nigeria.
SOP is a guide to personnel of government agencies, terminal operators, shipping companies, freight forwarders, road hauliers, stevedores, marine surveyors, other operators in the ports and users of services in the Nigerian ports and the general public on the provision and use of ports services.
According to Bello, there is need to assign someone to supervise and ensure that the SOP on port operations is observed to make the country reaps the benefits of port efficiency.
He said that the implementation of the SOP on port operations would lead to efficiency, accountability and transparency.
“The Vice President of Nigeria during a meeting in the presence of the Minister of Transportation and some agencies; Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and NSC, instituted NSC as lead agency to establish this manual and monitor it.
“Years ago, we started working on the SOP with some institutions and private public sector in the port but unfortunately, there was no body to supervise to ensure the SOP was observed.
“If it is not observed and no consequences for not observing, it means that the port will still have problems.
“If we have the SOP being observed, it will lead to port efficiency, accountability and transparency,” Bello said.
The NSC boss noted that these qualities were what investors wanted to see when they came to our ports and so the need to implement the SOP of port operations.
He said that the duty of the supervisor was to supervise, coordinate and whisper when things were not being observed at the port and likewise encouraged those that observe the protocols.
Bello noted that there was need to synchronise the SOP, PSSP and the Port Manual by the NPA as much as there was need to synchronise all organisations and agencies for efficiency.
“This is a simple task but you know issues with coordination. We need to measure periodically, observe and access and make use of the tool to grade what we do to ensure we climb up.
“It is the reaction of stakeholders that will also help us to determine how those things are done, if we are doing the right thing or not,” he said.
He said that the fact that NSC was made the lead did not confine the status of superiority over other agencies, urging that the Shippers’ Council should not be seen like that.
Bello noted that the essence was to convince, entice, lure or otherwise try as much as they (agencies) could to see that there was synergy to lead to successnan.
