The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr. Mohammed Bello-Koko, has emphasized the imperative of linking global sustainability to the operations of efficient and sustainable ports as the latter represents a huge pivot of economic development.
Koko made the admonition today at the launch of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa Annual Conference and Managing Directors Roundtable in Lagos.
The event was also attended by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Chief Gboyega Oyetola, who represented President Bola Tinubu and delivered a goodwill message.
Via his X account, the NPA boss said: “Earlier, in my opening remarks at the launch of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa Annual Conference and Managing Directors Roundtable, alongside the Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, HE, Gboyega Oyetola, I emphasised the need to translate our marine comparative advantages into opportunities for the collective prosperity of our respective countries.
“As I noted, the demonstrated global leadership of ports in their contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) shows that the sustainability of the world, especially Africa, rests heavily on the sustainability of our ports.
“Apart from being linked by their coastlines, countries in West and Central Africa also share similar challenges and opportunities, given the increasing realisation of the leverage that economic cooperation confers in the international arena.
“We will be doing great disservice to ourselves if we fail to maximise this unity through the cooperation of our ports. The specific objectives of AfCFTA, which include the progressive elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade in goods, liberalisation of trade in services, and cooperation, among others, are pregnant with a lot of opportunities for wealth creation and prosperity, and I am convinced this conference will equip us to safely midwife for the benefit of our respective national economies with a domino effect on the economy of the sub-region if our ports cooperate.”
