The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) is to harmonise the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all government agencies operating at the nation’s seaports.
This is contained in a communique made available to newsmen on Friday in Lagos by the Head, Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR), Ms Lilian Ekeanyanwu and Director, Public Enlightenment of ICPC, Mrs Rasheedat Okoduwa.
The communique was the outcome of a meeting held in Abuja by the Steering Committee of the Port Sector Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA) project.
The communique said that harmonisation of the SOPs by the Shippers’ Council would improve predictability and transparency.
According to the communique, the Project Steering Committee (PSC) representing all government agencies at the ports and the Federal Ministry of Finance would build capacity and support port agencies.
The PSC would also improve coordination between stakeholders and streamline processes for port operations through the development of SOPs.
It said that the PSC would establish a Port Service Support Portal (PSSP) to serve as a transparent system for internal and external complaint handling for both operational and integrity issues.
“The PSSP is to be domiciled at the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and supervised by a steering committee with representation from all agencies operating at the ports.
“It is expected that each port agency will effectively engage with these initiatives and accordingly communicate the positive improvement being achieved.
This project is not the project of any single agency. It is a collaboration of all participating agencies for the good of the port sector,” according to the communiqué.
The Port Sector Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA) exercise, undertaken in 2013, was a collaboration between Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NCS) and Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
Other agencies are: Port health Services, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).
The exercise was led by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), TUGAR and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
The communique said that the project was supported by the United Nations Development Project (UNDP).
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