MD NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman

The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman has said that the organisation under her watch is more than ever committed to operational safety standards in all aspects of operations at the nation’s seaports.

The MD, who was represented by the General Manager, Health, Safety and Environment HSE, Mr. Ahmed Yusuf, who made this commitment, spoke at the opening ceremony of a Capacity Building Workshop on Minimum Safety Standards for truck owners doing business in the ports jointly organized by the authority and the Federal Roads Safety Corps in Lagos at the weekend.

According to her, NPA will continue to collaborate with all relevant agencies in the port industry so as to build effective synergy that will ensure all trucks that ply the ports roads comply with the safety standards.

The Managing Director also commended the organisers of the workshop while urging participants to put into practice the knowledge acquired from the workshop.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Hyginus Omeje, in an opening remark, told the participants that the issue of Minimum Safety Standards was first introduced in the Oil and Gas sector when the FRSC commenced the implementation of the Road Transport Safety Standards Scheme RTSSS, which stipulates Minimum Safety Standard for truck operators.

Mr. Omeje who was represented by the Legal Officer of the command, Mr. Bonaventure Nnamani, lauded the authority for the partnership and also enjoined participants to open their minds to safety standards.

As part of the capacity building workshop, the Federal Roads Safety Corps delivered lectures on traffic laws relating to articulated vehicles.

The workshop also featured safe to load procedures while highlighting the importance of number plates and other important accessories concerning Minimum Safety Standard requirements in the ports.

The management of NPA had recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding MoU, with the FRSC on the implementation of Minimum Safety Standards for trucks operating in the ports.

The MoU empowers both NPA and FRSC to raise Joint Inspection and Certification teams to oversee its full implementation of the standards designed to bring sanity to the port roads, which are characterised by chaotic traffic situations.