Bayo Akomolafe 
Sixteen years after, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) has condemned the delay in renewal of the concession agreements by the Federal Government. It noted that the delay was a negative signal to the international communities about doing business in Nigeria.
The association added that all terminal operators in the country had surpassed the expectation of the Federal Government as enshrined in the concession agreement signed in year 2006. The Chairperson of the association, Princess Vicky Haastrup, explained in Lagos that the five terminal operators, whose lease agreement with the government have expired, had equally met all require-ments. Haastrup said: “We thank God that we now have a new minister, who sees a reason and need to get the expired leases renewed quickly; a lot of these leases have expired for over one year, which is not really good for business in Nigeria, what this is telling the international community is that Nigeria is not a secured place, if concessions are not renewed as at when they expire, it doesn’t show confidence to the international community.
“All of the expired leases have met the concession agreement and even surpassed what we are supposed to do. There is a way that performance is measured and this has been done all over the years; there is what is called continuous assessment, yearly, half-year and quarterly assessments.” She said that the terminal operators had invested and made commitments more than they were supposed to do in the concession agreement. The chairperson noted that the operators wanted to turn the industry around and perform at world class level, saying that NPA could confirm their efforts.
She stressed that there was no reason to delay the renewal of the concession. Notwithstanding, the chairperson commended the Minister of Transportation, Eng Muazu Jaji Sambo, for being proactive, saying that he had sent an instruction to the NPA recently to ensure that the expired leases were renewed within 45 days. She explained: “We are happy for the new minister that has given us a lot of encouragement and has promised that all the expired leases will be renewed within forty five days, they are keeping up with it, and we are going to hold him by his words. “We look forward to a new concession agreement that would bring comfort to everyone.” Also, Haastrup restated the commitment of terminal operators to the welfare of Nigerian dockworkers. She said: “The next National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) for dockworkers would be carried out by next year 2023, we usually sign it every two years. So far the dock labour are very happy with us because we ensure that their welfare is up to date. “I commend the leadership of the union, after 16 years, we are in a better place, the port is at peace.”
It would be recalled that in May 2022, the management of NPA stressed the need for the possible revocation of the licences of about five terminal operators within the Lagos ports, whose critical infrastructures like quay walls are believed to have collapsed. The Managing Director of the authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko, expressed concern that NPA was in a position to get the required funds to fix some of the broken down infrastructure but was mindful of allowing the terminal operators to take responsibility for the facilities under their custody. However, he added that NPA could embark on urgent repairs if they failed to address the problems, saying this may lead to re-concessioning of the facilities.
