An assessment of the effect of touting on Nigerian seaport operations: a case study of Apapa port

In Nigeria, touting has been a challenge in the port, as it causes loss and diversion of cargo. Therefore, this study examined the effect of touting on the operational performance of the Apapa port. Specifically, a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to determine the extent of the touting on service delivery, security measures on operational quality dependability, pilfering on operations output safety, touting influencing elements on operational reliability, and touting activities on overall performance. Hypothesis one tested to what extent touts affect the service delivery of the Apapa port. The results showed that touts and their activities have effects on service delivery at Apapa port with multiple R values of 0.826, F value of 99 degrees of freedom of 50.860, a T value of 13.611 and a p-value of 0.001 calculated, which is less than 0.05 alpha value tabulated. Hypothesis two tested to what extent touting influencing elements affect the operational reliability of the Apapa port. The results show that touting impacting elements lower the performance reliability of the Apapa port with a multiple R of 0.861, an F value of 99 degrees of freedom of 68.161, a T value of 11.028 and a p-value calculated of 0.001, which is less than 0.05 alpha value. Hypothesis three tested to what extent touting activities affect the overall operational performance of the Apapa port. The results showed that touting influenced the overall performance of the Apapa port with a multiple R of 0.831, F value of 99 degrees of freedom of 53.030, a T value of 14.387 and a p-value of 0.001. It is less than an alpha value of 0.05. The results showed a relationship between touting and operational performance. It implies that the more touting activities there are, the greater the risk and possibility of loss of cargo. In addition, the results revealed a significant relationship between touting and service delivery, security measures and operational quality dependability, pilfering and operations output safety, touting influencing elements and operational reliability, and touting activities and overall performance. The study concludes that various security measures need to be in place to stop the activities of the touts. Therefore, the study suggests the eradication of touting, proper monitoring by security operatives of operational output such as cargoes, government provision of legal menial jobs for touts, and implementing a harsh policy against touts and touting activities.