Eromosele Abiodun
APM Terminals Apapa, in partnership with the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) has embarked on a clean-up exercise to clear the heaps of refuse dumps littering the Apapa-Wharf Road and its environs.
The staff of APM Terminals Apapa; Port Manager of Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, Mrs. Fumilayo Olotu; Controller, Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Muhammed Abba- Kura; and the Chairman of Apapa Local Government, Mr. Adele Owolabi; all participated in the event.
Speaking shortly after the exercise was flagged off on Wharf Road, the Managing Director of APM Terminals Apapa, Mr. Martin Jacob, said the initiative was part of the company’s 2019 annual ‘Go Green’ campaign aimed at creating awareness on environmental degradation and encouraging sustainable waste disposal practices.
Martin, while expressing the company’s commitment to a cleaner port environment, charged port users to put an end to the indiscriminate dumping of refuse on the port access road.
“We can complain about what is happening but nothing will change if people don’t change their attitude. So we need to forget the past and focus on what to do to make a difference and achieve a sustainable clean port environment. We, as a corporate organization, will help as much as we can to make sure that happens,” Jacob said.
The Apapa Port Manager, Mrs. Fumilayo Olotu, who described the heaps of refuse in Apapa as an eyesore, said all hands must be on deck to restore the lost glory of the port city.
She said: “Apapa used to be a place of pride in those days, so activities around the port community should not make us lose the heritage we had in the past. We have discussed the need to partner with the local government to maintain the cleanness of our environment. We must engage the truckers and in their own language so that they have a buy-in and key into the project so that the heaps of refuse do not return.”
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of Apapa Local Government, Adele Owolabi, applauded APM Terminals for coming up with the initiative to clear the refuse dumps, which have littered the ports environs for months.
He said the heaps of refuse on the port access roads had remained a major challenge for the local government, even as he appealed to other corporate organizations to take a cue from APM Terminals.
He said: “We appreciate the gesture by APM Terminals and we encourage everyone around to do same thing. It is a right step in the right direction giving back to the community by evacuating the refuse. It should be sustainable and in sustaining it, there should be sensitization and advocacy campaign to these truck drivers and motor boys against throwing wastes on the road.
NAHCO Expands Agricultural Export Business
The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (nahco aviance) is set to support the federal government in its determination to diversify the economy by providing infrastructure to boost food export businesses.
The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NAHCO, Mrs. Tokunbo Fagbemi, explained that the company’s agric export business has a huge potential, saying it is one of the pet projects of the new management.
She said, “We are providing facilities that will encourage cold storage management. In a few months we are creating cold storage hub for both existing and potential clients, including our new clients that want to trans-ship their goods through Nigeria with a bit of packaging.
“Our findings from the airlines revealed that a lot of agricultural products exported are destroyed by the time they get to their destinations, which is largely caused by inadequate storage facilities.
“We just got an approval to develop a facility in our packaging warehouse, which will tackle that challenge because it will help exporters to package their products at a particular temperature rate to reduce the incidence of rejection in the international markets.
“We also want to provide a CEIV Pharma, which is a project that is designed by IATA, to support the movement of pharmaceutical products via air. What that means is that at every point of the movement of the goods, whether vaccines or drugs, the temperature is maintained.”
According to her, the company was also expanding its processing area.
“Most of our processes are governed by treaties signed by security regulations. So what we do is go back, look at all these processes and run our warehouse the best way we can,” she added.
Fagbemi, agreed with the federal government that agriculture must be seen as a business and haven for investment and integrating food production, storage, food processing and industrial manufacturing to establish the linkage necessary in the agricultural commodity value chain.
According to her, the value chain must consider the role of players from food production to consumption and design to empower the small holder producers to ensure that processors have good quality products for consumption.
“Our new equipment and technology would enable us to improve on its offerings to its clients, as NAHCO had recently invested about N1.9 billion in equipment.
“The overhaul would help to replace ageing equipment which had increased maintenance cost due to high utilisation of fuel,” she added.
The Chief Operating Officer of the Company, Mr. Herbert Odika, pointed out that NAHCO’s strict adherence to global standards stands the company out in all its operations.
He said, “We have a duty as the leading ground handler in the West Africa sub – region to set standards. We won’t shy away from playing this leadership role in all our operations including the way we process our exports.”
Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, recently urged all stakeholders to be involved in the agriculture sector as it is one of the cardinal points of the Economic Recovery Growth Plan of the Federal Government with an emphasis on developing and export-led economy.
He had said, “Agriculture sector was to exceed the one trillion dollars and create access to capital by investors to accessing value chain. Our agenda is to guarantee the vibrancy of the sector.
“Agriculture must be seen as a business and haven for investment and integrating food production, storage, food processing, and industrial manufacturing to establish the linkage necessary in the agricultural commodity value chain.”
Osinbajo, added that the value chain must consider the role of players from food production to consumption and design to empower the small holder producers to ensure that processors have good quality products for consumption.
