A large crowd of distinguished personalities, professionals, media and Nollywood key players attended the News Express sixth Anniversary Lecture and Economic Stakeholders Forum on Tuesday, November 20. The medium used the occasion to unveil the News Express Special Print Edition, an all-gloss periodical magazine.

Speaking at the event, Hadiza Bala Usman, managing director, Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, said the NPA is being positioned for greater efficiency, accountability and safety. She said these are the essential factors that determine the prospects of ports to garner market share.

According to Usman, who was represented by Patrick Ihekuna, assistant general manager, SERICOM, NPA, Nigeria is committed to increasing the potentials of the ports in Calabar, Warri, Port Harcourt and Onne for better performance. She said for the first three months of this year, the Calabar Port alone generated an unprecedented N3 billion.

“We are working to ensure that all our ports are functional through the dredging of the channels into the ports so as to attain the required draught level even as we are encouraging shipping companies to deploy flat bottom vessels in the interim. Tug boats and pilot cutters have also been deployed to these ports to increase the capacity to fulfil the authority’s statutory duties of towage and pilotage,” she said.

One of the highlights of the event was the unveiling of News Express Magazine, jointly performed by Kehinde Bamigbetan, the commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, and Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli, an international music icon and business tycoon, supported by other dignitaries.

The News Express Anniversary Lecture and Economic Stakeholders’ Forum is an annual programme that has an established trend of bringing together important business and political leaders from across the country, as well as multifarious professionals and influential media stakeholders. News Express, which debuted on August 29, 2012, is one of Nigeria’s most popular and influential online dailies.

– Nov. 21, 2018 @ 16:52 GMT |