The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, has disclosed that Nigeria’s exports have grown by more than 25 per cent over the past two years, attributing the increase to the Federal Government’s policies.

Dantsoho stated this while speaking at the ongoing Annual World Ports Conference in London, organised by the International Association of Ports and Harbours, according to a statement on Tuesday.

He explained that Nigeria’s population gives it an immense advantage among its peers in West and Central Africa, adding that recent reforms have also massively increased cargo throughput, noting that the country was recording growth as a result of the government’s policies.

“Statistically, exports from Nigeria in the last two years have increased by 25 per cent. These are exports that are not mainly only oil and gas,” Dantsoho said.

He noted that Nigeria had recorded strong performance in oil and gas exports, while shipments of other commodities, including agricultural and manufacturing raw materials such as cocoa and cashew, had also increased in volume, “and that is to the credit of the partnership that we have between ourselves and the major terminal operators, APM Terminals.”

Dantsoho said the NPA had put the necessary structures in place to sustain export growth, noting that this informed the establishment of the Export Processing Terminal.

“We have got about four of those in Nigeria where we collaborate with the terminal operators, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other relevant agencies, so that everything regarding the processing of the cargo for export is done locally, so that by the time it is exported out of Nigeria, there will not be issues regarding standards,” he added.

He noted Nigeria was better placed today to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement as a result of the reforms of the present administration.

The NPA managing director attributed the current strength of Nigeria’s economy to the impact of the Federal Government’s reforms. “So, because of that, we are leading other African countries to ensure that we export or trade within ourselves in a free and fair manner,” he added.

He added that the reforms had enabled Nigeria to secure two spots among the world’s top 20 ports in the latest global ranking released by the World Bank, disclosing that revenue from ports across Nigeria had quadrupled as a result of the reforms.

“We have experienced a lot of increase in volumes and revenue that has been generated by the ports across Nigeria, and it is strictly because of the collaboration between us and other countries. As a matter of fact, the efficiency in the ports in Nigeria is far better now than those of other West African countries,” Dantsoho emphasised.