Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has said that it will soon bar all unregistered shippers and port users from operating and using facilities in all Nigerian seaports.
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Pius Akuta, dropped the hint at the sensitisation workshop for stakeholders and launching of the online portal for the registration of Regulated Port Service Providers and Users in Calabar.
Akuta, represented by the Deputy Director, Stakeholder Services, Celestine Akujobi, said the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Port Economic Regulation 2015, Part 11 Section 4(1) mandates the council to register all regulated port service providers and users operating in Nigerian ports.
“It is mandatory for all service providers and users to register and obtain a certificate of registration before they can be adjudged as legally operating at the nation’s seaports and avoid sanctions.
He said the sensitisation, which previously held at Lagos Ports, Area 1, Port Harcourt, and Onne Ports is one of the series of exercises being organised for stakeholders in the sector on the need to register with the council and benefits to be derived therefrom.
According to him, the registration exercise has been ongoing albeit manual until early last year when the council completed work on the online portal.
Akuta said: “For us in the council, the new portal is a milestone as we upgrade from manual registration to a fully automated registration platform.”
The Executive Secretary, who described the platform as interactive in nature, said the physical interface has been totally eliminated, adding that from the convenience of their office desk, their company can be registered online without having to visit any of our offices, as long as they fulfil the requirements and make the necessary payments.
He explained that the registration exercise, which is in various categories, attracts a token fee as the motive is not to generate revenue, but to meet the administrative charge of running the platform, among others.
He said that registration will assist the Economic Regulator, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), to build a database of service providers, as well as genuine shippers and other stakeholders operating in the port system. He said that it will also enable the industry practitioners to transact business and operate in a safe and secure business environment, sanitising the ports and help to eliminate challenges of faceless shippers in the port system.
