The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director, Mohammed Bello-Koko, on Wednesday inspected the ongoing rehabilitation works going on at the Mission To Seafarers (MTS) centre in Apapa, stating that with what is on the ground now, Nigeria can confidently host visiting Seafarers from all parts of the world.
Checks by the Nigerian Tribune on Wednesday revealed that renovation work on the once-dilapidated facility, which now boasts a swimming pool, bedrooms, and an indoor games centre, among others, is almost complete.
Excited at the transformation of the facility within a few months, Mr. Mohammed Bello-Koko noted that a few months ago, his attention was called to the state of the headquarters of the seafarers’ association.
According to the NPA Managing Director/CEO, “The state of the facility was an embarrassment a few months ago.
The essence of this place is that when seafarers, captains, and so on come into the country, like in every other country, they should have somewhere to go and rest, spend a little time on land, and so forth.
“We discovered that it was not in a good state, and we promised to do something about it. We just came to inspect the state of work, and I am really impressed with what I am seeing.
I am sure that we would be very proud to host any Captain from any part of the world here—play games, eat, and rest.”
On the importance of the facility to the country, Bello-Koko explained: “This is one of the indexes for port rating in the world, and I can say that the rating of the Nigerian Ports Authority and Nigeria will actually improve because of this facility, which I heard is one of the best in Africa.”
He commended the former MD of the NPA, Chief Adebayo Sarunmi, who, as Chairman of the Mission To Seafarers (MTS), called his attention to the decaying facility.
On his part, Sarunmi marvelled at the transformation, stating “I never knew this place would take this shape. I was dumbfounded because I wasn’t sure where we would see helpers until we summoned the courage and went to the MD to trouble him.
“Knowing the amount of issues he has on his shoulders, we didn’t think he would have time to come to a place like this.
It was like a Dracula house, but he turned it into a place that Nigeria, indeed Africa, should be proud of among the various seafarers’ centres all over the world.”
On the importance of the index rating, Chief Sarunmi said, “It was the reason we decided that if nobody was going to listen to us, the MD would listen to us.
We know that he understands that not only the port infrastructure inside the port but also ancillary services like this can serve some important stakeholders in the port industry, like seafarers.
“We just started. It is going to be among the best in the world. We can raise our heads high, and we can compete with South Africa, our regional centre, and we are hopeful that very soon, even the international headquarters will say, Let it go to Lagos.”
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