The Chairman of the committee that was established by Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on cessation of Cabotage waiver; Barrister Temisan Omatseye has lamented that the committee has been inactive since its creation.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that on July 3rd, 2019, the immediate past Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside inaugurated the committee headed by, a former Director General of NIMASA, Omatseye, with a mandate to come up with best practicable way to end Cabotage waiver and associated matters.
According to the then-NIMASA DG, the idea was to defeat the monster that had hampered the efficiency of Cabotage Act since its enactment about 16 years ago.
Giving update on the activities of the committee, Omatseye told Shipping Position Daily last week in Lagos that, the change of administration in the agency may have constituted to the fate of the committee.
He confessed, “I won’t lie, we have been a bit stagnated because you know there have been a change in administration and naturally you don’t know what the new administration wants. But I am hoping that by tomorrow or day after, I will engage the new DG for him to give whether his green or red light or whatever he wants to give to know the way forward”
“The committee is still up and running, but we are not moving forward because somebody needs to arrange our accommodation and meeting places and the secretariat is in NIMASA, so let me hear from them and know what they are up to. I really have not been following up with the activities at NIMASA. I will definitely ask the new DG before the end of the week to know exactly what they want”, he said.
Also speaking, a frontline ship owner and the immediate past president of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) Engineer Greg Ogbeifun, told our correspondent that the decision lies in the hands of NIMASA on what to do with the committee.
Meanwhile, while responding to the committee’s fears, the Deputy Director of Public Relations (DDPR) at NIMASA, Mr. Philip Kyanet said that the committee has not been disbanded by the agency.
He also blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the many troubles of the committee.
Kyanet however expressed optimism that the committee will come up with a report that will help move the sector forward.
“The committee on the Cabotage cessation has not been disbanded; government is a continuous thing, so the committee is still working to be able to turn in its report.
“And the committee is not even being chaired by NIMASA, but by a stakeholder who is highly revered in the sector, so undoubtedly there are going to be transparency on the work of this committee”
“Don’t forget, the situation in the country and in the globe has practically slowed down activities. No meeting and all that, people are restricted to their homes, so that explains why the committee has not been able to do much. But I can assure you that the government is interested in getting these things sorted out; both for the good of the operators and that of the sector”, he assured.
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