This initiative aims to address challenges related to non-compliance with standard operating procedures in the administration of the electronic call-up scheme, particularly concerning the Minimum Safety Standards (MSS), and to improve the ease of doing business for truckers and the maritime or blue economy.

The decision comes in the wake of the Managing Director of NPA endorsing the deployment of E-tag technology as a viable solution during an expanded stakeholders meeting convened on April 23rd, 2024.

Following extensive discussions and strategic deliberations with key stakeholders and the NPA, TTP has committed to shouldering the entire financial burden of the project, signalling its unwavering dedication to fostering long-term investments in advancing the digital infrastructure of Nigeria’s ports.

The project which will further enable the ease of doing business for the port and its community, underscores TTP’s steadfast commitment to driving efficiency and promoting the adoption of cutting-edge technology within the maritime sector, in supporting the goals of the NPA and the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Committee (PEBEC).

Jama Onwubuariri, managing director of TTP, expressed the company’s commitment, stating,

“We are dedicated to investing hundreds of millions in this project, because we firmly believe in the long-term sustainability of the port ecosystem and are proud to partner with the NPA and the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to deploy E-tag technology, paving the way for enhanced efficiency and security, and further enabling and easing the business environment for the nation.”

Key highlights of the deployment agreement include that TTP will finance the entire deployment, alleviating any financial burden on truck owners and stakeholders.

The initiative will cover all trucks accessing both Apapa and Tincan Island ports, including industrial company trucks.

The E-tag will be configured as an electronic secure tagging system with embedded MSS and other port compliance requirements can be securely embedded, replacing the need for tamper-susceptible paper MSS, and enabling real-time monitoring of truck safety status.

Deployment will proceed upon formal approval to commence by the Authority.

TTP firmly believes that the adoption of RFID technology, coupled with the E-tag system, is essential to overcoming challenges and enhancing security and compliance measures within Nigerian ports.

The integrated solution, developed in-house by TTP’s team of experts, is meticulously designed to address industry-specific needs and combat fraudulent activities by truckers.

By embracing this collaborative effort, the NPA demonstrates its commitment to technological advancement, security enhancement within the maritime industry, and the ease of doing business for the nation and its citizens.

TTP looks forward to working closely with the NPA to ensure the successful deployment and integration of E-tag technology, marking a significant step towards a more efficient and secure port ecosystem.

In a release, NPA attributed the leap in export to the licensing of 10 export processing terminals.

It added that the terminals, within the period under review, facilitated exports at Nigerian seaports.

“This move, which provided a one-stop shop for export processing where quality control, cargo assessment and statutory checks by all government agencies were carried out, was geared towards eliminating all bureaucracy and attendant delays that have hitherto undermined the competitiveness of Nigerian exports in the international marketplace

“The resultant effect of this initiative was a quantum leap in the numbers of Nigerian export-laden containers from 156,790 TEUs in 2022 to 226,456 TEUs in 2023,” the statement read partly.

NPA disclosed that it contributed to the deepening of Nigeria’s balance of trade through the promotion of exports, especially non-oiI exports in response to the national exigency of strengthening the naira.

It noted that to create new businesses and promote multi-modalism in line with global best practices as prescribed by the International Association for Ports and Harbours, it initiated barge operations services.

“Which, apart from reducing pressure on the roads, had grown into a N2bn annual generation business both from direct investment and accompanying externalities.” The authority added.

According to NPA, the movement of cargo by barge has greatly enhanced port-hinterland connectivity “as evidenced by the meteoric rise in numbers from a total of 80,244 TEUs in 2022, to 118,046 TUEs in 2023”.

The agency also said that it had also grown the number of ship calls sequel to the consistent dredging of channels, installation of buoys and improved security at the ports’ channels.

“The number of ship calls grew from 1,997 vessels in 2022 to 2,179 vessels at the end of 2023,” it remarked.

It disclosed that the Lekki Deep Seaport, which doubles as Nigeria’s first fully automated port at take-off, processed 6,076 TEUs of transhipment cargo.

According to NPA, this represented a swift move that signposted the agency’s readiness to cater to the maritime needs of Nigeria’s landlocked neighbouring countries and win back cargo hitherto lost to the country’s maritime neighbours.

It also stated that it sustained revenue performance during the period under review by looking beyond the sole dependence on earnings from core port operations.

“The authority has set public-private partnership modalities in motion to derive revenue from ports independent power production, bunkering stations, fallow lands for logistics, freshwater provision and ship repairs and maintenance and to insulate its income from leakages.

“The authority has firmed up its Revenue Invoice Management System to the cutting edge version of RIMs 2.0,” it asserted.

NPA also disclosed that it collaborated with the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Ship Management Limited to deploy the vessel traffic service to complement the newly-equipped control towers across its locations to assure stakeholders of its domain awareness capacity for enhanced security and in response to emergent threats and vulnerabilities.

Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, stated yesterday, April 5, following the Council meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, that the total cost of the ICT components is N15.3 billion.

”Among those memos that were okayed today was the award of the contract for the supply and installation of information and communication technology (ICT) components for the 2023 population census.

”This is for the National Population Commission (NPC). It is meant for the census. The ICT component contract was awarded for about N10.9 billion.

“Another contract that was approved for the National Population Commission was the contract for the development and implementation of a mobile device management solution for the personal digital assistance devices to be used for the 2023 population census.

According to Garba Shehu, the council also approved a contract worth N3.3 billion for the development of external infrastructure costs at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) new training academy.

He also stated that N1 billion had been approved for the contract to procure 19 vehicles for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

According to the presidential aide, the council approved N65 million for a cost variation in the supply of airport fire crash tenders in the Ministry of Aviation.

He also revealed that the council approved an HIV/AIDS policy to protect people living with the disease, as well as new regulations for the woodworking ecosystem.

The government has revised regulations pertaining to woodworking machinery and the entire ecosystem, which date back to 1959.

”New regulations have been put in place as empowered by the law.

According to NPA statistics, this is twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for the last five years, from 2017 to 2021.

According to Port statistics, containerized imports increased by 3.11 percent to 831,314 TEUs in 2018 from 806,219 TEUs in 2017.

It also increased by 7.32 percent in 2019 to 892,137 TEUs, 0.03 percent in 2020 to 892,401 TEUs, and 13.10 percent in 2021 to 1,009,312 TEUs.
Similarly, NPA records reveal that the export of containerized products and empties increased by 111.13 percent in five years to 1,020,511 TEUs.

A breakdown shows that containerized exports fell by 64.90 percent to 169,653 TEUs in 2018 from 483,357 TEUs in 2017.

The volume fell by 17.41% to 140,116 TEUs in 2019, increased by 29.47% to 181,406 TEUs in 2020, and fell by 462 percent to 1,020,511 TEUs in 2021.

In addition, vessel traffic entering Nigerian ports increased by 5.72 percent in the last five years to 4,100.

According to the NPA, about 3,897 vessels with a gross registered tonnage of 95,190,097 was handled in 2017, about 3,878 ships with a gross registered tonnage of 126,683,956 were handled in 2018, about 3,259 vessels with a gross registered tonnage of 108,923,118 in 2019, about 4,054 vessels with a gross registered tonnage of 127,662,514 in 2020 and 4,100 vessels with a gross registered tonnage of 125,125,787 handled in 2021.

In terms of cargo throughput in metric tons handled during the review period, Nigerian ports handled 71,535,636 million metric tons of cargo in 2017, 74,677,504 million metric tons in 2018, 81,264,169 million metric tons in 2019, 80,826,672 million metric tons in 2020, and 79,915,877 million metric tons of cargo in 2021.