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…Donates Agura hotel as Covid-19 isolation centre
Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has called on terminal operators to suspend storage fees on consignments for an initial period of twenty one days as a result of pressure on business activities across the globe owing to the raging Covid-19 pandemic.
The Authority revealed this in a press release signed by the General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Engr. Jatto Adams, stating that the initiative was necessary to relieve burden on port users.
The move, however, is also aimed at achieving the federal government’s objective on Ease of Doing Business even at this critical period.
The statement read, “The Nigerian Ports Authority has directed all Terminal operators to suspend all applicable terminal storage fees on consignments (demurrage) for an initial period of twenty-one days effective March 23, 2020.
“This gesture is in recognition of the pressure that the COVID-19 pandemic imposes on businesses, the responsibility imposed on the Authority to relieve this burden on its customers as well as attaining the objective of the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business Policy at this trying period.
“The Authority recognises the financial implications of these policies on the terminal operators and will consider a shift in our operational charges to ameliorate the situation of stakeholders. NPA thanks all stakeholders for their cooperation,” the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, as the major shareholder of the Agura Hotels, Abuja, NPA has agreed to donate the 130-bed fully furnished hotel as isolation centre to aid the fight against COVID-19 in Abuja.
According to a press statement also signed by Jatto, the General Manager, the gesture was part of the agency’s social responsibility initiative aimed at supporting efforts of the federal government to contain the spread of the virus in Nigeria.
“The Authority encourages all Nigerians to follow all advisories issued by the National Centre for Disease Control and be confident that Nigeria shall overcome” the agency said.
