The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents ANLCA has lauded the Managing Director/CEO of the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, Mohammed Bello- KoKo over his uncommon initiatives that cleared the decade-long gridlock that had menaced the Apapa/Tin Can Island Ports’ access roads and undermined ease of doing business in the country.
The commendation came Monday, June 10, 2024 when the National President of ANLCA Mr. Emenike Nwokeoji in company of the association’s Board Chairman, Mr. Taiwo Mustapha led other executives of the highly influential trade association on a working visit to the NPA headquarters on Marina, Lagos.
The president noted that it was truly a great feat to have come up with initiatives eliminated the seemingly intractable gridlock on the Apapa and Tin Can Ports’ roads, which for several years constituted a major clog on the wheel of efficient port operation in the country’s two biggest seaports.
Responding, Mohammed Bello- KoKo said: “Breaking the jinx of the age-long gridlock that was causing huge revenue losses and reputational damage to our dear country Nigeria was a product of our relentless commitment to doing what is right by entering into open-minded collaborations with the Lagos State Government and relevant stakeholders”.
Reiterating the Authority’s commitment to enhancing ease of doing business and deepening Nigeria’s balance of trade through promotion of exports, Bello- KoKo further stated: “We are committed to fulfilling the priorities as enunciated in the Presidential/ Ministerial Performance Bond which we signed and to sustain the sanity on the port access roads, which has resulted in the unprecedented increase in export numbers, we have developed a Service Level Agreement SLA for cargo evacuation which we would be implementing with renewed vigour going forward to sustain the growth in exports necessary to achieve the national trade surplus required to grow the domestic economy.”
Recall that the National Bureau of Statistics NBS in its foreign trade report for the first quarter of 2024 released Sunday highlighted that Nigeria recorded a N6.5 trillion trade surplus between January and March 2024. The NBS detailed that Nigeria’s exports totaled N19.1 trillion and total imports stood at N12.6 trillion; indicating a trade surplus of N6.5 trillion.
A trade surplus is an economic indicator of a positive trade balance in which the exports of a nation outweigh the country’s imports.
