FG considers port automation to cut costs

• Published On: 20 February 2025 at 19:58

Adegboyega Oyetola, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, has emphasized the importance of port process automation in Nigeria's business cost reduction efforts.

During a recent media interview with editors in Lagos, Oyetola stated that some port-related costs do not contribute to government revenue but rather reflect systemic inefficiencies.

"If you want to be able to automate your processes, we need to reduce costs, because some of these costs are not actually costs or revenue to governments; they are systemic problems. We will need to make numerous changes, as well as reduce the cost. For example, the NPA has not reviewed costs in 32 years, so there is no balance," he explained.

He stated that the government intends to reduce the number of port agents to seven to improve operational efficiency.

He did, however, acknowledge that some agencies have legitimate authorization to operate at the ports.

"When we make appropriate recommendations, we become team-dependent, and we know that the likelihood of a risk decreases as we count to seven. Our ultimate goal is to reduce the amount of work, as I previously stated; most of them are also involved, but we are still working on it; we cannot do so without the approval of the Federal Government.

"We need to accomplish that. The second thing we need to do is oppose the reduction in the cost of boat clearance," he explained.