The Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) said it would help replace some of the items lost to the recent attack on the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in Lagos by suspected hoodlums.
STOAN chairman Vicky Haastrup stated this when she led port operators on a sympathy visit to NPA managing director Hadiza Bala-Usman over the attack which led to the burning of a section of the NPA headquarters.
Mrs Haastrup described the attack as sad and mind-boggling.
“We are most saddened by what we have seen. It is actually beyond anybody’s comprehension that so much carnage and destruction can be done to government property, particularly NPA.
“I can imagine what the NPA management has gone through. It must be a very difficult and sad period for them because they put together so much and then some hooligans somewhere can just come and carry out this level of damage to the property.
“We sympathise with them and that is why we all decided to pay them a courtesy visit to let them know that we are with them and very sad.
“This is a government establishment where we all benefit from and as well enjoy support with their team of management.
“I assure you that as terminal operators, we are ready to support, especially in replacing some of your office equipment, but we will wait for the outcome of the insurance,” she said.
Also speaking during the visit, managing director of PTML Terminal Ascanio Russo commended the combined effort of the police and navy in repelling the hoodlums that invaded the Tin Can Island Port in the wake of the EndSARS protest.
He, however, appealed to the NPA management to check the influx of unauthorised persons loitering around the port area, calling on the need to beef up security to guard against any future attack at the port.
“The situation at Tin Can Island is still very precarious. There are far too many people working around the port and it is not clear what they are doing. We appeal to the NPA to look into this,” he said.
Ms Bala-Usman, while expressing appreciation to the terminal operators for the visit, said NPA was going through a difficult period but assured that the authority remains resilient.
“We are keen to bounce back and we have commenced work and luckily our IT infrastructure was not damaged.
“We have insurance cover for literally everything so we are trying to recover as much as we can through our insurance process to see how we can replace some of our equipment within the shortest possible period so that we can get back to work,” she said.
The MD promised to liaise with the Lagos State Government to dislodge miscreants loitering around the Tin Can Island Port Complex.
