The new Commissioner of Police, Western Ports Police Command Apapa, Mrs. Hilda Ibifuro Harrison has assured of her readiness to build on the gains recorded so far in the Western ports by her predecessors so as to ensure a safe and secure port environment in the country.
Harrison who made this pledge when she paid a courtesy visit to the National Secretariat of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) last week however stated that the task before her was not an easy one saying that she would require the stakeholders to work with her and her command to make the dream a reality.
She said that security being a very serious business should not be left in the hands of one individual or group urging the Freight Forwarders to collaborate with the Police to get it right.
According to her,” I am so glad the President has made it clear that his association’s collaborative efforts with other security agencies in the Western Ports Command has been of immense help and that no security breach has been recorded which has given him and his association members course to celebrate with some security agencies yesterday”.
“I only just pray, I hope too that my tenure here will do the same. God will not allow us to see any security breach. We must work together to ensure that. We will not find it on a platter of gold. We must all be at alert, we must listen well, we must see well, we must probe very well, we must get to know our neighbor and know what the person is doing. That will go a very long way.
“I know that you appreciate what it takes to keep Nigeria going because when Nigeria moves, we are all moving and when Nigeria stands, we are all standing. We must work together to keep this great country together and anything that will bring about breaches of security which will never be tolerated must be put in check”.
“I say, give us information, give us the intelligence to serve you better and of course, it shall be well with all of us”.
She noted that the ports were restricted areas to which unauthorized persons were not allowed access adding that she expected that all persons present during the visit and those they were yet to meet in the course of their interaction with the critical stakeholders within the command would be told to abide by the rules and regulations governing activities in the ports.
Earlier in his welcome address, the National President of NAGAFF, Dr. Eugene Nweke harped on the need for collaboration and cooperation between the Police and various stakeholders in the industry if security threats would be nipped on the board.
Dr. Nweke noted that the new trends in crime has necessitated a need for a review in the way and manner the ports security were being handle hence the automation of the nation’s ports as well steps taken so far to ensure that the ports complied with the requirements of the International Ships and Ports Facility and Security (ISPS) Code.
He said, “so, in identifying with the global body to tackle the issue of terrorism, there is need for collaboration, there is need for networking, there is need for partnership, there is still need for information networking and sharing. This is why it has become wise at this level for every actor within the supply chain as a regulator, as agency of the government, as a service provider to be at the same page and on the same board”.
“So today, you are coming to us, we are not saying that you are coming to see our faces, we take it as in line with ensuring that cooperation and collaboration is achieved within the sector. That is why you are here and for us, it is to give support”.
The NAGAFF boss disclosed that collaboration and cooperation has ensured that the port that was believed to be porous had not recorded any reported case suggesting that arms and ammunitions being used by the insurgents in the North-East passed through the ports which according to him called for celebration.
“And there was no time we came to the ports and hear that there was a bomb threat inside the ports so, everybody should run away. That is kudos to us in another way. So, we have to celebrate. If the government cannot recognize us, we the key operators, we celebrated ourselves”, Nweke said.
