NPA Secures Approval For Designation Of Lekki Seaport As Customs Port, Approved Wharf

July 29, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has secured approval for the designation of Lekki Deep Seaport as a Customs Port and Approved Wharf.

The Authority, in a statement, issued by its General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Nasiru Ibrahim, explained that the approval followed a letter it wrote through the Ministry of Transportation, to seek expedited presidential approval for the Port to be gazetted as a Customs Port and Approved Wharf, in line with the requirements of the law.

This, it said, was to keep the promise to ensure the operational take-off for berthing of commercial vessels at the Lekki Deep Seaport before the end of the year 2022.

The statement explained that with the approval granted by President Buhari, it meant all was set for commercial vessels from across the world to berth and clear cargo at Nigeria’s first Deep Seaport and first fully automated port.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the designation of Lekki Deep Seaport as a Customs Port & Approved Wharf.

“In a letter through the Ministry of Transportation, the Managing Director, Mohammed Bello Koko, secured the approval for the port to be gazetted in line with extant laws.

“With this approval, the port is set for berthing of commercial vessels before year-end”, the NPA further explained in a statement on its official social media handles on Friday.

Recall that the Managing Director of the NPA, Mohammed Bello Koko, had on July 1, 2022, received the first vessel to berth at the Lekki Deep Seaport.

Koko had said that, “the commitment of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to providing every support necessary to place Nigeria on the global list of countries with Deep Seaports is unflinching

“This is why matters related to the operationalisation of Lekki Deep Seaport before the end of this year have been placed on top priority.”

The statement added, “This development shows that Nigeria’s renewed export orientation and the readiness of the NPA to take trade facilitation a notch higher is no fluke.”