The Barge Operators Association of Nigeria has said that the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, does not have the right to concession barging because they are owned by individuals and not the agency.
The National President of BOAN, Bunmi Olumekun, said this in a telephone conversation with our correspondent in Lagos on Sunday.
He noted that what the association could do was to improve barging system which, according to him, the group had already started working on.
“Can you concession what you don’t have? NPA is not the owner of barges in Nigeria. The agency is just a body that controls the activities of ports. So, I don’t think that word ‘concession’ can come out of what you don’t have. You only concession what you have, but when you don’t have something, how can you concession it?
“What we can only do is to improve barging to see how we can have a quality system. They can put a policy in place, which I think they are doing. So, it is all about putting a strong policy that will cut across safety and quality. I don’t believe in concession, rather we should begin to embark on safety and then better ways of doing things.”
