Business
Sarumi Wants FG To Unbundle NPA
A former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Chief Adebayo Sarumi, has urged the Federal Government to unbundle NPA for better performance.
Sarumi, who made the call at a public lecture in Lagos, said that there was the need for a strategic plan to reposition the Authority for the future.
He said, “NPA can be taken to the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange to raise enough funds.
“There will be attractive conditions for foreign direct investments as far as the port sector is concerned.”
Sarumi also suggested the establishment of a national fund to build more ports and expressed delight over the passage of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act.
The maritime technocrat advised that NPA must partner with major global operators so as to move the organisation forward.
He said that such foreign partners should be world-class partners that could train NPA workers as technical regulators.
Also, a former Managing Director of the authority, Malam Bello Gwandu, suggested the Public Private Partnership scheme as a key to port development.
He said that Nigerian ports had become over-congested while the services were over-priced.
Gwandu also said that there were too many government agencies at the ports.
He said, “If the ports are run efficiently, it will make positive effect on costs. Our ports have become toll gates due to the storage systems.
“Goods are stored in the ports for too long and some companies are making monies on rents.”
He described Nigerian ports as archaic, adding that some of them were not well designed to cope with the current challenges.
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Blue Economy: Minister Seeks Lifeline In Blue Bond Amid Budget Squeeze

Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is seeking new funding to implement its ambitious 10-year policy, with officials acknowledging that public funding is insufficient for the scale of transformation envisioned.
Adegboyega Oyetola, said finance is the “lever that will attract long-term and progressive capital critical” and determine whether the ministry’s goals take off.
“Resources we currently receive from the national budget are grossly inadequate compared to the enormous responsibility before the ministry and sector,” he warned.
He described public funding not as charity but as “seed capital” that would unlock private investment adding that without it, Nigeria risks falling behind its neighbours while billions of naira continue to leak abroad through freight payments on foreign vessels.
He said “We have N24.6 trillion in pension assets, with 5 percent set aside for sustainability, including blue and green bonds,” he told stakeholders. “Each time green bonds have been issued, they have been oversubscribed. The money is there. The question is, how do you then get this money?”
The NGX reckons that once incorporated into the national budget, the Debt Management Office could issue the bonds, attracting both domestic pension funds and international investors.
Yet even as officials push for creative financing, Oloruntola stressed that the first step remains legislative.
“Even the most innovative financial tools and private investments require a solid public funding base to thrive.
It would be noted that with government funding inadequate, the ministry and capital market operators see bonds as alternative financing.
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