Abuja’s centrality, agro-allied potentials strategic to non-oil growth — Dantsoho

By Godwin Oritse

FOR farmers and local producers, Abuja’s central location and agro-allied strengths present a rare opportunity to reach wider international markets. With the Federal Government driving policies to grow non-oil revenue, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has pledged to play a supportive role by creating linkages that connect producers directly to global demand clusters.

Speaking at the just concluded Abuja international Trade Fair, Managing Director of NPA said that this approach not only strengthens export opportunities but also empowers grassroots players in the non-oil value chain to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic diversification.

According to him, the position of Abuja as the centre of the country is strategic to the NPA’s renewed trade facilitation focus that places a high premium on port-hinterland connectivity, which Abuja’s centrality accentuates, presents a seamless linkage with the comparative advantages inherent in all regions of the federation that can be harnessed to sustain growth in the volume and value of Nigeria’s exports.

He said as Nigeria’s foremost trade facilitation platform, the authority is always proud to be associated with the noble cause the Abuja International Trade Fair represents, especially seeing that trade remains the most veritable tool for actualizing most of Nigeria’s economic aspirations.

The NPA boss used the opportunity of the occasion of the “NPA Special Day” to invite the entire trading and investing public to explore the tailor-made simplified export processes and other vistas of opportunity present at the Nigerian Ports Authority.
He said, “As some of us are aware, in our bid to contribute to the strengthening of the domestic economy through the promotion of balance of trade we established the Export Process Terminal (EPTs) to simplify the hitherto burdensome process of exporting Nigerian goods.”

Dantsoho explained that the EPTs were conceptualized to serve as a one-stop-shop for cargo consolidation, stuffing, documentation, packaging, certification and onward shipment through electronic call-up to the Ports in quick turnaround time thus eliminating the duplications and bureaucratic overlaps that previously rendered Nigerian exports uncompetitive in the international marketplace.

He said to facilitate the port-hinterland connectivity and create pathways for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to play in the export value chain; the EPTs have been structured to have a seamless handshake with the Domestic Export Warehouses (DEWs) in synergy with the Nigerian Exports Promotion Council (NEPC) as well as the Inland Dry Ports.

“To align with the economic stabilization resolve of the Federal Government and the theme of the year’s fair ‘Sustainability: Consumption, Incentives and Taxation’ we are unifying our various operational channels into a singular transaction gateway known as the Ports Community System (PCS) which lays the groundwork for the implementation of the National Single Window (NSW) which sustainably eliminates all forms of opacity and attendant delays associated with undue human interference,” he stated.

He explained that the NSW is the global best practice for delivering the greatest value with the greatest ease by connecting all stakeholders in the trade value chain for seamless interaction at the push of a button, saying NPA has put measures in place to link value creators in the remotest part of the hinterland with the farthest clusters of demand anywhere on the globe.

He assured every stakeholder that the doors of NPA are always open for partnerships even beyond the trade fair, urging them to visit the NPA’s fully interactive online real time website www.nigerianports.gov.ng to access our growth offerings.

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