The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Thursday affirmed the designation of the Lilypond container terminal in Ijora, Lagos as a specialised processing and handling facility for the exportation of the country’s locally made finished and agricultural goods.
Managing Director of the NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko said the move would ease the bureaucratic and logistical bottlenecks faced by exporters, thereby promoting better access of the country’s non-oil exports into international markets.
The NPA MD made the pronouncement at the NPA’s Special Day celebration at the ongoing 43rd Kaduna International Trade Fair in Kaduna State, where he disclosed that the Lilypond terminal would offer exporters a one-stop space to carry out their transactions at a reduced cost and time, thereby increasing their profit margin and competitiveness in the international market.
According to him, the fair’s 2022 theme, Re-strategizing Nigerian Economy for Global Competitiveness, underscores the Federal Government’s agenda on the diversification of the economy away from reliance on hydrocarbons, by focusing on industrial development, especially local manufacturing and large scale food production.
He said the NPA has initiated several strategies to maximise the movement of non-oil exports across the country’s borders.
“We are currently in discussion with the terminal operators to give priority to exportation of agricultural produce and solid minerals, this will stimulate our domestic economy, create thousands of jobs and increase the revenue profile of government at all levels,” he said.
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