The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mallam Habib Abdullahi, has assured the Nigerian/Nigerien Joint Commission on Transit Cargo of the authority’s support and cooperation in order to enhance the commission’s efforts at encouraging Nigerien business community to patronise the Nigerian Ports.
Abdullahi gave the assurance in Lagos while receiving members of the commission who paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
The NPA Managing Director expressed satisfaction about the activities of the commission, especially in the area of facilitating trade relations between Nigeria and Niger, adding that both countries have a lot to benefit from each other on trade facilitation.
Abdullahi told the delegation that the NPA would not only welcome the delegation of Nigerien business community whenever they visited Nigerian ports, but will also support its sensitisation workshop scheduled for Abuja soon.
He said there were many threats to trade facilitation along the Nigerian land borders and enjoined the Commission to find ways of mitigating these threats in the interest of Nigeria.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation and Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Transport, Mr. Peter Utsu, told the NPA Managing Director that the commission was constituted after a join meeting between the governments of Nigeria and Niger Republic.
He said that the Nigerian Presidency had ordered the commission to ensure that the interest of Nigerien business community in doing business through the Nigerian seaports was revived.
According to him, the commission will organise a sensitisation workshop in Abuja on its activities, which will precede the arrival of Nigerien business delegation visit to Nigeria and the Nigerian Ports in March 2015.
