The managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Abubakar Dantsoho, has identified Abuja’s central location and agro-allied potential as key drivers in Nigeria’s efforts to boost non-oil revenue.

Mr Dantsoho said this during the ‘NPA Special Day’ at the Abuja International Trade Fair, according to a statement by the NPA’s general manager for corporate communication and strategy, Okechukwu Onyemekara.

He explained that Abuja’s centrality within the country offers a unique advantage for connecting Nigeria’s agricultural value chain to global markets.

According to him, this advantage is vital to the federal government’s continuous push for diversification of the economy away from crude oil dependence.

Mr Dantsoho said that developing local value chains for agro-allied products would help identify clusters of international demand and position Nigerian goods more competitively in the global marketplace.

He stressed that port-hinterland connectivity was central to NPA’s renewed focus on trade facilitation, enabling a seamless link between ports and the country’s interior.

This linkage, he said, would ensure that the comparative advantages across Nigeria’s regions were fully harnessed to increase both the volume and value of exports.

The NPA boss emphasised that as Nigeria’s leading trade facilitation platform, the authority remained committed to supporting initiatives that strengthen non-oil revenue generation.

He added that the Abuja International Trade Fair represented a noble cause which aligned with Nigeria’s economic aspirations, as trade is a powerful tool for national development.

Mr Dantsoho invited traders, exporters and investors to explore opportunities provided by the NPA, especially simplified export processes designed to ease cargo movement.

He explained that the NPA had established export processing terminals to reduce the cumbersome processes previously associated with Nigerian exports.

According to him, the EPTs are conceived as a one-stop shop for cargo consolidation, stuffing, documentation, packaging, certification, and onward shipment through electronic call-up to the ports.

This, he noted, eliminated duplication and bureaucratic bottlenecks that had rendered Nigerian exports uncompetitive in international markets.

To further support small businesses, Mr Dantsoho said the EPTs were integrated with domestic export warehouses in synergy with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council and inland dry ports.

According to him, this integration creates pathways for small and medium enterprises to participate more actively in the export value chain.

Speaking on the theme of this year’s trade fair, “Sustainability: Consumption, Incentives and Taxation”, he disclosed that the NPA was unifying all operational processes into a single transaction gateway known as the Ports Community System.

According to him, the PCS is designed to lay the groundwork for the national single window, which will streamline all trade-related transactions across agencies.

He stressed that the NSW represented global best practice, as it connected every stakeholder in the trade value chain for seamless interaction with minimal human interference.

Mr Dantsoho assured stakeholders that the NPA had put in place measures to link value creators from even the most remote parts of Nigeria with clusters of demand worldwide.

He reaffirmed the authority’s open-door policy for partnerships and encouraged stakeholders to explore the NPA’s fully interactive online real-time platforms for trade facilitation.

(NAN)