In its effort to deliver efficient and timely services in the various ports in the country, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has launched the Electronic Ship Entry Notice (e-SEN).
The Managing Director of the NPA, Mallam Habib Abdullahi who made this known in an event to mark the launching of the Electronic Ship Entry Notice (e-SEN) and the 2 years of stewardship of the present Management of the Authority under his leadership stated that before now, the Ship Entry Notice processes was done manually with its attendant delays in verification and validation as well as duplication of requests.
Mallam Abdullahi noted that with the advent of the electronic platform, no longer would stakeholders be faced with the inconveniences of travelling back and forth between the designated SEN offices to pick the SEN certificates and ports discharge thereby saving the man hours loss in business and the risks involved in commuting.
According to him, “the Ship Entry Notice (SEN) process hitherto was done manually. Stakeholders purchased booklets of application forms, filled a leaflet and submit manually to the designated SEN offices located in either the Western Ports or the Eastern Ports head Offices depending on the port of call”.
“This manual process is fraught with challenges such as duplication of requests, slow response to requests due to delayed verification and validation of ship data. Important to note also is the feedback from stakeholders revealing the inconvenience faced in travelling back and forth between designated SEN offices to pick up their SEN certificates and ports of discharge, loss of manpower hours in business and the risk involved in commuting”.
“Consequently, we have integrated an online payment platform on the e-SEN application. This is to simplify the payment processes to NPA and enhance the provision of a link to the world economy thereby encouraging international trade”.
Rendering his score card as the helmsman of the authority in past two years, Abdullahi disclosed that in line with the mandate given to them as well as the Transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, the present management had embarked on programmes designed to improve the efficiency of their operations.
He noted that the present management had within the last two years touched virtually every aspect of the Nigerian Ports industry ranging from Marine and Operations, Health, Safety and Environment, Engineering and Technical Services, Finance and Administration, Human Capacity Building, Corporate Social Responsibility as well as the resuscitation of the Long Service Award long jettisoned in the authority.
The NPA boss remarked that as a result of the various policies put in place towards realizing their set goal, the authority witnessed the calling on the Nigerian ports the biggest vessel in West Africa known as WAFMAX, outsourcing of the towage services in Port-Harcourt, Onne, Warri and Calabar ports among other achievements.
“This administration for the first time undertook a massive training plan both local and foreign that cut across every cadre of workforce. In 2013 alone, management trained 3,091 personnel out of the total workforce of 4,245. This figure represents 90% of total workforce”.
“Considering the huge responsibility of securing the ports in line with the international standards, the present management has successfully completed the recruitment and training security men for the authority. Similarly, we are in the process of recruitment of additional firemen and women”, Abdullahi said.
He therefore reassured the stakeholders of the management’s commitment towards the realization of the vision of making the Nigerian ports the leading port in Africa saying,” we shall continue at all times to remain focused on making our ports efficient and customer friendly’.
On his part, the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Mr. Olumide Oduntan stated that the e-SEN was an instant solution to ship entry notification just as the e-payment solution provided the solution for payment confirmation in the authority leading to the recent 15.4% increase in cargo throughput recorded in the 1st half of 2014.
Oduntan disclosed that once payment was made in the bank in favour of the authority, it receive immediate confirmation adding that that was what they expected e-SEN to also do for the authority .
He said,” in the next couple of months we should be able to have the shipping position live online real time. Once we are able to have the e-SEN, all the information regarding a vessel or the ship are already in the e-SEN, so, there is no reason why we cannot have the shippi9ng position online real time. So, I believe in the next couple of months precisely before the end of the year, we should be able to do that”.
Also speaking, the Executive Director Marine and Operations, NPA, Engr. David Omonibeke recalled that the major mandate of the NPA was to be the leading port in Africa adding that following the various effort put in place in the last two years, Nigerian ports had moved from the number five position they were to number two position expressing the hope that they would become the number one port by the end of the current administration.
He stated that e-SEN would improve efficiency of making preparations for the ships to get to the berth even as he said that by the time the application became fully operational, it was definitely going to improve on the efficiency of the authority.
“So, we can tell you that we are going to do our very best for this opportunity given to us to serve this country and to make sure that the shipping industry will enjoy efficient services which will definitely bring down the cost of shipping, like was mentioned, the manual application of this e-SEN is #2000 but with the application of the technology, it is now #1000”.
“Also, we know, once we have increase in efficient service, we reduce the dwell time of vessels coming, definitely, there will be calls for government to consider reducing the cost of shipping which will also have a multiplier effect in the entire economy”, he said.
He therefore pledged the confidence of the authority as the facilitator of trade to work with other government agencies at the ports and also counting on the support of the stakeholders to do their best in achieving the mandate given to the management.
Highlights of the event were a short documentary on the two years stewardship of the present administration of NPA under the leadership of Mallam Habib Abdullahi, question and answer sessions and a host of other side attractions.
