- NSC Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Pius Akutah
By Anthony Nwachukwu
The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has expressed readiness to support the National Single Window (NSW) Steering Committee to promote effective operationalisation of the platform.
Speaking when the steering committee paid the agency a working visit in Lagos, the NSC Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Pius Akutah, called on all relevant agencies involved in the project to embrace automation to aid their respective operational processes.
Noting that, “automation is one of the key elements we have to pursue as agencies and ensure we automate our processes as quick as possible,” Akutah expressed optimistism that the implementation of the NSW would be of great benefit to the council and the port industry at large, according to a statement by the Assistant Director, Public Relations Unit of the NSC, Mrs. Rebecca Adamu.
He affirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to diversification of the non-oil sector, adding that the NSW is one of the structures that will help to meet the aspirations of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Akutah further told the team that the council was planning to go paperless to aid operational activities, adding that the agency was awaiting its new bill to optimally carry out its regulatory activities.
While stressing the need to end inter-agency rivalry and uphold peaceful co-existence in maritime operations, Akutah said that when the bill is passed, the NSC will work round the clock to transform the sector to a regional maritime hub with efficient and effective service delivery.
Earlier, Head of Project Secretariat for the NSW Steering Committee, Mr. Tola Fakolade, had called for stakeholders and agencies’ support to meet government’s aspirations of having the project operational in Nigeria.
Fakolade, while briefing the NSC management team on their mission, said the NSC’s buy-in was key to actualising the NSW project. In his presentation, he listed the benefits of the project to include increased government revenue, foreign investment, trade volumes and improved automation processes.
