Ismail Aniemu (Maritime journalist)
The National Transport Commission otherwise known as the (NTC) bill can still be reworked to accommodate all the features and contents of Port and Harbour bill. One bill can be all encompassing to address the challenges of the maritime sector instead of having so many laws with no impact.
Babatunde Samuel (Registrar, POTEMAN)
Ismail Aniemu (Maritime journalist)
The National Transport Commission otherwise known as the (NTC) bill can still be reworked to accommodate all the features and contents of Port and Harbour bill. One bill can be all encompassing to address the challenges of the maritime sector instead of having so many laws with no impact.
Babatunde Samuel (Registrar, POTEMAN)
The two bills are important to the sector because the Ports and Harbour is to consolidate the port reforms that we have presently, which was brought by government fiat. The NTC is also good; reasons being that it tends to harmonise multi-modal system of transport in the country. In my own view, the two bills are very important; whether we are looking at it from a technical or from the commercial and administrative point of view; they are to contribute to the huge success of the maritime sector. Therefore, if the two bills can be passed concurrently, it is of the glory of the maritime sector.
Michael Emiko (stakeholder)
The Ports and Harbour bill is more preferable to that of the NTC because it will enhance the Shippers’ Council to perform better as port economic regulator. One thing for sure is that the NTC bill will superintend the Ports and Harbour bill and we are all clamouring for the National Assembly to pass the bill for efficiency and effective port operation. Again the NTC has a wider coverage outside water transport alone but Ports and Harbour bill gives room for specificialisation.
Chief Eugene Nweke (National President, NAGAFF)
They are separate Bills for different purposes; the National Transport Commission Bill is talking about inter-modalism which will complement the national transport policy plan. With the NTC bill, we will now have an agency that will pursue; not just a unit of transport, but it will pursue inter-modalism and ensure that things are done right. The Ports and Harbour Bill was an after-thought by the NPA who in connivance with BPE did what they did, you cannot embark upon concession without first amending the Port Act. If Mr. President had not taken the initiative and made the Shippers’ Council an economic regulator, we would have been wallowing under private sector monopoly, so the passage of the NTC Bill right now is very key.
Tunji Obagbo (POTEMAN)
The Ports and Harbour bill requires urgent attention than that of the NTC, because even as the Shippers’ Council has been given an executive backing to act as the economic regulator, the Ports and Harbour bill when passed into law will also provide legal backing to the council and that will make them perform more effectively as a commercial or economic regulator. If the upper and lower chambers can speedily work assiduously to pass the bill into law then the maritime sector will definitely received a massive boost.
Godsent Ubah (Ship Chandler)
Apart from the sea transportation, we have rail, air, and the road, but it is a pity that all these aspects are not being catered for adequately by government. But, by the time we pass the NTC Bill, there will be cohesion of multi-modal transport system between these sectors. In regards to the port and Harbour Bill, we all know that the port concession we have today is by government fiat, it has no back up from the National Assembly or any Act, so by the time it is passed into law, it will legalize the port concession exercise, so the two laws are very essential.
Comrade Omeiza Jimoh (President, NPA Senior Staff Association)
What is wrong with the present Port Act as amended in 1994? The powers of the NPA comes from the Act, and the port concession was also carried out under the Port Act, I believe we have not implemented that Act to the fullest to see if it will help us or not, it is not the language that they put on paper that matters, it is the policy statement behind it, the government functionaries, government itself, as well as Nigerians. If you look at the Cabotage law, it is a beautiful law, but it’s not working. My opinion is, if we want to come with another law, we must be able to identify before Nigerians the areas that the Port Act has not been functioning well; it is then that we can move forward. As far as we are concerned, the Port Act is still very okay, it is not that we don't want a change, but the change has been envisaged by our predecessors in the Act and this is what enabled government to carry out the few changes you can see in the port today. There are still changes in that law that can turn around the maritime industry, the law needs to be exhausted.
Olorogun Andrew Ugwi (Freight Forwarder)
I believe the NTC Bill covers all modes of transportation, so why should we have a different law for Ports and Harbour alone. The nation should not be confused, it is because of the selfish interest, that is why they are constantly creating dichotomy in all these laws and that is why we are not moving forward, every good manager will know that the National Transport Commission Bill will cover all aspects of transportation and that should be the Bill they should pass, anything contrary is just to continue dragging the nation backwards for selfish interest. The Ports and Harbour draft bill should be submitted to the lawmakers and the ideas should be included in the NTC Bill in order to make a harmonized transportation law, it is baseless to break a system into two because every system overlaps.
Discussion about this post