The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Malam Habib Abudullahi, has reiterated that the Federal Government has no intention of selling any port in the country.

Abudullahi said this in a message at the event marking the authority’s special day at the ongoing Enugu International Trade Fair in Enugu recently.

“No port has been sold and the Federal Government has no intention of selling any port. They only gave it out on a lease to the private sector to manage for a given period of time.

“When the agreement of the concession expires, the performance of the people will be assessed to know if they will continue with the concession or not,’’ he said.

Represented by Mr Sunday Nwobi, the General Manager, Eastern Ports, Abudullahi explained that government only leased out some terminals to private investors.

He said the bureaucracy and institutional interferences at the NPA occasioned the lease, noting that the lease brought improvement of cargo handling activities.

According to him, the concession programme has also encouraged international shipping networks and international trade opportunities as well as economic development.

In a welcome speech, the President, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), Dr Theo Okonkwo, commended the continuous participation of the authority at Enugu fairs.

He called for more proactive approaches toward reducing unwarranted bureaucracy in clearing goods at the ports.

“We are not unmindful of the various measures to decongest our ports.

“We wish to say that a lot still needs to be done because importers, especially from this part of the country, are still experiencing undue delay in clearing their goods,’’ Okonkwo appealed.

The event was attended by top officials of the authority from different states.