The Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has assured maritime stakeholders that it would ensure efficient  implementation of its budget this year.

Addressing members of the House of Representative Committee on Ports, Harbours and Waterways who visited the Corporate Headquarters of the NPA on over sight functions, the Executive Director Finance and Administration of the Authority, Mohammed Bello Koko, who represented the Managing Director Hadiza Bala Usman gave this hint.

He enlisted the support of all and sundry towards the rehabilitation of dilapidated infrastructure and the procurement of plants and equipment across the nation Seaports.

On capacity building the Managing Director said that the NPA will pay attention to training its staff in line with best practices particularly in areas of certification required for them to operate seamlessly and efficiently.

In his address, the Committee Chairman Honourable Dr. Patrick Asadu, enjoined NPA to keep the good work they are doing in the course of modernizing the Ports Industry.

He charged them to prioritize critical areas of concern in its budget implementation while others sections should be attended to adequately.

Honourable Dr. Patrick Asadu also stated that Government would not compromise on improved operational efficiency. He urged the NPA Management to work towards greater revenue generation as the economic situation facing the country requires creative administrative management expertise in order for the living standard of Nigerians to improve.

In his words “We are generally impress by the performance of the NPA and if there are other areas we want them to improve when they come for Budget Defense, these areas would be highlighted to them”.

NPA according to Asadu, is a very important organization and quite strategic to the realization of stronger economic growth in Nigeria. He therefore charged the organization to improve its savings especially in the face of the current realities in the country.

In a related development, NPA has also partnered the Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM,  to enhance the productive capacity of its staff.

The Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman, however insisted that such trainings must in line with international best practices for NPA to accept and embrace them.

Vice President, of NIM, Professor Olakunle Iyanda, stated that the institute trains Nigerians in various disciplines of human endeavors in states across the country. The focus, he said, was to assist government agencies like NPA and others to instill prudent and efficient administrative management system.

He urged the management of NPA to take advantage of the various training programmes of the institute to boost the human capacity development of the agency in tandem with international best practices.