I Was Appointed NPA's Acting MD On Merit - Mohammed Bello-Koko Reveals

Talk about the physiognomy of a man not being a basis to measure his intellectual credentials, then, the Acting Managing Director at the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko, is a worthy example. His years in the private sector, obviously, didn’t go to waste. A blend of both his private and public sectors experiences is currently responsible for the striking step-ups at the NPA, even though Bello-Koko has only been in office for a few months. That he boasts the right aptitude – academic and attitudinal – is evident in the leadership he’s so far provided. Even more endearing, is his understanding of the issues in the agency, dimensioned by his projections for a more efficient and functional NPA. Giving what could pass as a situation report during a recent interaction with THISDAY, Bello-Koko, although still in office in an acting capacity, is determined to leave office with his prints of stellar performance all over the NPA. Excerpts:

It’s been over six months since you were appointed in an acting capacity as the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority. What has it been like?

Well, it has been exciting. We have had to contend with contemporary issues, but these are issues we have been used to and they have been recurring. But what has been most important has been that management needs to take immediate action on all of these issues and I am sure you appreciate the fact that the port system involves a lot of key players and there is a lot of inter-play, both by private and public sectors, individuals and meeting their needs and demands is an onerous task. What we have done is to try to bring them together and we have also improved stakeholder consultation in order to bring efficiency to the ports and we have seen that it has improved efficiency.

To achieve the objective of operational efficiency, since I commenced as the acting MD, we have placed emphasis on stakeholder engagement with a view to making them key into the vision of management. This has given birth to improved collaboration between the Authority and sister agencies, with an overall improvement on port Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Recently, you released your revenue numbers and it was robust. Can you share what happened in the six months that gave birth to the revenue you posted?

As of September, we generated about N256 billion as against the projected figure of N214.7 billion, and we remitted to the CRF about N89 billion within the six months that I have been acting. First of all, what we did was we started holding the port managers responsible for revenue at their port locations in terms of revenue generation and collection, because there is a difference between what you generate and what you collect. We started having virtual meetings and at those meetings, each port reports the revenue they have generated and what they have collected; who is owing them and we hold them to account.

So, it is like an MPR, like what they do in the banks, where at the end of the month, everybody sits down to give an account of what they have done and what they have not done. We also have improved monitoring in terms of collections. The billing system has also improved greatly. We have blocked loopholes and leakages and that has increased the revenue too. This was achieved because the top management team was all encouraged to do more. It is a joint effort, the Board, the Executive Management have all been very supportive. Eventually, I believe at the end of 2021, we would surpass whatever revenue target that we had set for ourselves.

What have you been doing differently that was not done before, that has led to such an increase? Also, what exactly do you mean by the proposed digitisation of the ports and how do you intend to go about it?

You see, the port of the 21st century must embrace IT and its operations must be IT-driven. We are taking deliberate steps and investments are being undertaken by the Authority, to create a fully-digital ecosystem in all the country’s port locations by 2025. In 2011, the Authority reviewed its ICT strategy in line with its new role as landlord, following the concession of port terminals in 2006. The primary focus of the new strategy is on enterprise computing and heavy dependence on network infrastructure, along with a centralised and shared database.

We have also deployed a portfolio of systems and infrastructure towards the actualization of our ICT objectives. These include Oracle Enterprise Business Suite for financial and human resources planning; Billing/Revenue and Invoice Management System (RIMS), to fast-track billing processing; Customer Portal/electronic Ship Entry Notice (eSEN)/Manifest Upload for shipping traffic management; Hyperion Budgeting for management of annual budget; Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence System (3Ci) for maritime domain awareness and management of vessel calls; Truck Call Up and Gate Access Control for the control and schedule of trucks to the ports as well as manage truck traffic around the port corridor. Our next priority is to harmonize all the standalone platforms and integrate them with Terminal Operators and shipping lines with a view to having digital communication to facilitate efficiency. Currently, we are in the process of linking the shipping line EDI platforms to the ETO, to improve traffic management along the port corridors, particularly the export products.

The data must also be available and you must be able to query it and prove that it is good. We also need to integrate and have a centralised data system that can be used by everybody. By the time we do that, it is going to improve the relationship between the private and the public sector. This is where the Port Community System (PCS) comes into play. The Port Community System is a ‘change management’ project rather than an IT project. It enables change, therefore, the PCS though simple in concept, rely on support from all the stakeholders from both private and public authorities.

What it does is that it brings everybody into one platform in such a way that whatever information and process you need from the entry of the ship to offloading of the cargo, to clearing of the cargo, so stakeholders in this port community system will be the NPA, port users like shipping companies, terminal operators, haulage companies, clearing agents, freight forwarders and so on and so forth. We are currently also trying to integrate the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system of the shipping companies to Eto (Electronic Call Up System). That way, there will be synergy in that. So, what we are doing is deliberate investment with a timeline to achieve something. There is a roadmap, the same way you have roadmaps in various things.

The system will enable: (a) a neutral and open electronic platform enabling intelligent and secure exchange of information between public and private stakeholders in order to improve the competitive position of the sea and air ports’ communities. (b) Optimises, manages and automates port and logistics efficient processes through a single submission of data and connecting transport and logistic chains.

Our goal is to leverage technology to close the gap between us and the major international ports. A digitalised port helps in making better informed operational decisions, increases efficiency, improves collaboration amongst stakeholders, lowers port costs and ultimately helps to meet the ever-increasing customer expectations in a timely manner. A five-year plan is now being implemented by the Authority for the attainment of a fully-digitalised port system in Nigeria. We hope to achieve our target earlier than five years.

Apparently, the port is very well-digitalised from what you have narrated. But how much efficiency has that brought in and how much more do you hope to achieve with your new digitalisation plan, because there are still delays at the port – unacceptable delays that cost companies a lot of demurrage and all of that? So, talking about this other digitalisation, how much efficiency will that bring to the system?

I like the fact that you said partially, but what we are trying to do is full automation now, and what we have deployed has increased efficiency and currently, ships calling into Nigerian Ports do not need to fill forms manually, because there is what we call electronic ship entry notice and our billing system also is very easy now. It is easy to bill clients, send in the bills and so on. But what we are now trying to do is to bring everything together from the handling of the cargo, from the entry of the ship – that means the harbour department gets to have information that they need at the right time – right down to loading of the cargo and also the trucking companies and the logistic companies and that would improve efficiency exponentially.

So, what exactly causes delay in the clearing of goods at the port and why does it cost so much, since delays lead to additional costs? Again, the Chairman of BUA Group, at a function in Paris, recently, said it cost more to transport a container from Apapa, Tincan ports to Kano than from China to Lagos. That comparison was very striking. Why is it that no matter how much you do, things just seem not to work in this country?

While one is not into any argument about this claim, on our part at the NPA, we are constantly in search of cheaper and equally safe means of transporting goods from the port. We have licenced and have encouraged the use of barges for transportation of goods into and out of the ports. While doing this, we are also not unaware of the seriousness that the federal government is attaching to construction and rehabilitation of the roads leading to Lagos ports

In addition to this, the introduction of the electronic call up system has greatly reduced the cost of haulage. I am aware that since the e-call up was introduced in February, cost of haulage has gone down drastically.

Yes, there are delays at the ports and to answer your question about what causes delay at the ports. Currently, the ports are operating far beyond their installed capacity, that is, the ports of Tincan and Apapa. The landmass in Tincan and Apapa is the space that has been there forever and it is not going to increase, but what needs to change is the efficiency – what are the IT deployments, what are the equipment the terminal operators have deployed, how quickly can you take out your cargo? It is the same road size now, though it is bigger, the delay starts from when the cargo comes in and of course, the vessel comes in, offloads its cargo and how long does it take to clear that cargo? When does the cargo get out of the port? How long does it take the Nigerian Customs to inspect this cargo and release it? We have been seeing an improvement in how quickly people can clear their cargo as cargo duel time has actually reduced. But there is room for improvement and that is the essence of digitalisation and if you digitise the port, you will ensure that there is little or no human interference and it means that other things will reduce – whether it is corruption, or delays in clearing cargo.

Would you say the security agencies at the ports are hindering the free flow of goods or helping the system? From the complaints of importers, they seem to be hindering the quick clearing of goods. For example, after doing 100 per cent inspection, one would have thought that should end it, but when the container is moving out, another security agency stops the container and another round of inspection begins, sometimes by the same customs, who just completed 100 per cent inspection of the container, all in a bid to extort.

All the agencies at the ports – their responsibility is to assist in ensuring safe delivery of cargoes and clearing of the cargoes. They are also ensuring that only cargoes that are legally allowed into the country come in and of course, contrabands and so on should be stopped. However, we have had instances where activities of some government agencies had hindered the speedy clearing of cargoes. On the issue of 100 per cent cargo inspection that has been set by the Nigerian Customs, we have had a meeting with the Controller General of Customs, and the Customs Commands here. We have been having regular interfaces with them. It is not an efficient way of doing things, but I can tell you that in the last few weeks, the Nigerian Customs has deployed one mobile scanner in Tincan and one in Onne; the one in Apapa, we are working to ensure that enough space is provided for it, these will greatly improve the process of cargo inspection at the ports.

We have also noted the issue of another Customs Command inspecting containers as they are about to exit the port. It is happening in Tincan and Apapa and it is also happening in Onne, and I am sure the Customs Service is doing something about it. The time it takes Customs to inspect a container, let’s assume that it is 30 minutes, and I am sure that 30 minutes is enough to electronically scan about 10 containers, so, you can see where some of these delays come from and the other delay actually has to do with the mode of evacuation of the cargo.

First of all, the roads were in a bad state, but the federal government has repaired the roads out of Apapa while the ones from Tincan are under construction and we hope that very soon, it will be concluded and one of the reasons for the delay as it relates to evacuation of cargo is the space within the ports. There are lots of overtime cargoes that are still at the ports locations. They are supposed to have been moved to Ikorodu, but Ikorodu is filled up, and the Nigerian Customs has said they have started e-auction, (electronic auctioning of the containers). We have pleaded that they should auction the containers on-site if possible in the ports, this will help create enough space for inbound cargo. Very recently, I visited Ikorodu and saw how the place was filled up and we are in discussions with the Nigerian Customs on how to rearrange/reorganise the place in order to create more space to move overtime cargo from the ports in Lagos.

Is the 100 per cent inspection actually the model around the world?

As I said earlier, digitalisation and IT is the way to go. Once human contact is reduced, the opportunity for extortion and abuse of the process is extremely reduced. We are working towards that.

No, it is not the model in the world except when there are suspected items in the container, then, you can physically inspect. I think it is because of the lack of scanners. I also understand that they are being deployed by the Nigerian Customs and we know that some of them have been deployed already. A mobile scanner has been deployed in Onne, one in Tincan, the one in Apapa, we are waiting for it.

Why is it that every new government would promise 24-48 hours of clearing, but always falls short of that policy projection?

The ports still operate round-the-clock. However, there are issues of safety of cargoes, even when cleared out of the ports. Truck drivers are not usually eager to freight cargoes at night. So even when goods are cleared, their consignees and the drivers will have to wait till the following morning. Also, there is a Nigerian Port Process Manual which relevant stakeholders in the port system subscribe to, and which clearly spells out the dos and don’ts in cargo clearance and delivery process.

So, if you want to do a 24-hour clearing, it means that once the ship comes in, it berths on time and then it is offloaded on time, the goods are manifested for exit quickly, the trucks come in quickly and cargo inspections in-between need to take place quickly and if we are able to reduce the hours or the days it takes to do all these, then, we will achieve that. But it is not possible to achieve that if all the players do not actually work in tandem.