Nigeria’s Dantsoho wins global endorsement as IAPH vice-president, pushes for sustainable ports

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has received global endorsement for his election as Vice-President of the International Association for Ports and Harbours (IAPH), as he pushes for sustainable port practices and energy transition at the World Seaports Conference, held in Kobe, Japan.

In a significant show of support, seaport professionals and experts from over 64 countries across America, Europe, Asia, and Africa have unanimously endorsed Dr. Dantsoho’s recent election as Vice-President of the International Association for Ports and Harbours (IAPH), based in Tokyo, Japan.

The NPA-boss also held strategic engagements on the sidelines of the conference.

This unanimous endorsement came on the heels of the recent approval of Nigeria’s National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The conference with the theme: “Reinvention and Prosperity in Turbulent Times”, held at the iconic Hotel Ōkura Kobe, Japan. It brought together port executives, policymakers, and industry leaders from over 89 countries to tackle pressing maritime sector challenges.

Addressing the experts and professionals at the global conference on key issues of energy transition, decarbonisation, digitalisation, and resilience, Dantsoho noted that these critical issues align with the commitment of the NPA to port automation.

“The Nigerian Ports Authority’s recent Memorandum of Understanding MoU, with a global terminal operator, APM Terminals at the Lagos Ports Complex to electrify container freight operations to reduce the carbon emissions footprint also signposts this commitment”, the MD assured the global audience.

Dantsoho, who, attended the global meeting in the company of the NPA’s Executive Directors of Finance and Administration and Marine and Operations of the NPA, also toured Japan’s Kobe Port facilities to gain more insights into seismic-resilient infrastructure and smart logistics, which are directly applicable to NPA’s ongoing port modernisation programme.

Dr. Dantsoho also met with investors on the sidelines of the global event to seek partnerships to enhance the Authority’s infrastructure and equipment renewal programme.

Recall that Dantsoho was in August elected as Vice-President of the IAPH, which stakeholders have variously described as a testament to Nigeria’s growing influence in the comity of maritime nations across the globe.

IAPH is a non-governmental organisation NGO with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, has in the last six decades grown in leaps and bounds with its member seaports together handling in excess of 60per cent of the world’s sea-borne trade and over 60per cent of the world container traffic.

The organisation came into being in November 1955, when over 100 world seaport leaders gathered in Los Angeles to announce the creation of IAPH. IAPH over the past six decades, developed into a global alliance of seaports, currently representing over 190 seaports and 167 port-related businesses in 89 countries.

IAPH aims to be the global trade association of choice for port authorities and operators, representing their interests at the regulatory level with prominent organizations such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO), World Customs Organization (WCO), and International Organization for Standardization (ISO), as well as global alliances like the Global Maritime Forum and World Economic Forum.

IAPH holds consultative status with various United Nations bodies, including the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the UN Global Compact, working on behalf of ports to advance their interests