By Samuel Akpan
Within the next few months, new technology will completely eliminate extortion and legacy manual abuses across Nigerian seaports, according to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
“Just a few minutes ago, I was with him, and he indicated that in the next few months, we will begin to see what will happen in the area of technology,” said Ikechukwu Onyemekara, NPA General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications in an interview with Independent Newspaper.
He said technology sits at the heart of the Managing Director’s vision, alongside port rehabilitation and staff welfare, and that the authority is only beginning to reveal what is coming.
Onyemekara said many extortion problems would be tackled through innovation.
“Whether people wanted it or not, the way government was going, technology and innovation would take over many of these manual processes.”
He described the e-call-up system as one of the best things to happen to the ports because it is already serving its purpose, even with acknowledged hiccups.
“We are not going back to the manual system,” he said. “If you consider the impact of the e-call-up system, it far outweighs the challenges we experienced under the manual process.”
Some of the biggest resistance, he added, has come from people who previously profited from the old paper-based arrangements.
“NPA has now installed truck barriers at terminals so a truck cannot divert from one gate to another. Without the required code, it cannot enter.
“That is the automation we are talking about. Once it is fully in place, you cannot bypass the process,” Onyemekara said.
The authority will keep improving the system, processes and structures already in place, he added, stressing that e-call-up is global best practice.
He said he saw a similar model abroad, where ports simply stop receiving extra trucks when congestion builds.
Nigeria is applying the same principle, even as some operators complain about roads and restricted access.
NPA is also sensitising host communities around sites where port construction will take place.