The Port Consultative Council (PCC) has urged the federal government to remove the Nigeria Customs Service from the control of the Ministry of Finance and place it under the Ministry of Transportation.
The Council has also called for the establishment of a 'Port Community System' an ICT system which would ultimately link all port operations and activities of all maritime agencies together under a single platform.
Speaking at a Seminar organized for maritime journalists by the Nigerian Ports Authority in partnership with the Maritime Industry Advocacy Initiative (MAIN) in Lagos on Monday, Chairman of PCC, Otunba Kunle Folarin said it has proven to be counter-productive to have the Nigeria Customs Service under the Finance Ministry but operating at a port controlled by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) controlled by the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
According to the maritime expert, in order to achieve a robust inter-agency collaboration in the port sector, there is need for the National Assembly to adjust the enabling laws of NPA, Customs as well as the other agencies operating at the port. He noted that presently, there is no collaboration among the agencies and this has led to absence of the required development and progress in the maritime sector albeit to the detriment of the economy and citizens.
Otunba Folarin, while delivering a paper titled; inter-agency collaboration; getting the port industry delivering on its mandate; noted that presently, there are multiple checks within the customs service, he said despite the fact that customs has final authority on cargo release from the port, another unit of the customs is on the highway to intercept the same container. He therefore calls for the NPA to be made the last releasing authority on any cargo in order to prevent multiple checks.
Speaking, he said: "There are conflicts of interest in the enabling laws of these agencies coupled with interference by the national assembly.
Customs is being supervised by the federal ministry of finance but they are operating in a port that is being supervised by the federal ministry of transportation, this would definitely bring about problems. At the Nigerian Ports, Customs only collect revenue without any Social Responsibility"
"If there is no collaboration, there would be no cooperation and the execution of projects will be delayed perpetually to the detriment of Nigerians. Another consequence of lack of collaboration is lack of relevance on the part of some agencies and lack of improvement in performance. The port community lacks awareness on the mandate of each of the agencies in the sector, there is lack of commercial and technical competence in some of the agencies"
Otunba Folarin stressed the need for Nigeria to take a cue from Ghana where a single window platform called 'GNET' is now in operation.
According to him, all other developing African nations in the region have equally embraced automation as a way of eliminating port challenges and delay. he warned that with the continuous insistence on face-to-face transaction, 48 hours cargo delivery would be a mirage.
Another solution which according to him could set things right in the sector is for the Nigerian president to use his political will and place a single ministry above others and place it in charge of all agencies operating at the port. he said that presently, the inability of the agencies to collaborate is because they are being supervised by different ministries.
Otunba Folarin who is also the Chairman of Seafarers Welfare Board noted that boards of most maritime agencies are not well-constituted and this has contributed to their poor performance. He said that most of the board members of the agencies were appointed based on political sentiments and not on integrity, technicality or competence.
Also speaking at the seminar, Chairman of the occasion, and the immediate past General Manager of Lagos Traffic Radio; Mr Layinka Adagun lamented that presently, Nigerian journalists are not being adequately trained by their employers.
Adagun, who is also a former Secretary General of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN), commended the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for deeming it fit to lecture maritime journalist.
Adagun urged the NPA to sustain such an initiative organized with the Maritime Industry Advocacy Initiative (MAIN) adding that the programme should be continuous because news writing, analysis and reportage is changing by the day and there is need for Nigerian journalist to stay alive to the emerging trends.
According to him, the maritime sector has the potential to grow the nations' economy but it is presently lagging behind.
"The strategic importance of the Nigerian Maritime Sector to the growth and stability of the nation’s economy is attested to by its value in the upstream sector of the oil industry. This is further stressed by the Federal Ministry of Transport"
"According to the Ministry, with a total annual freight cost estimate of about eight billion dollars, the maritime component of Nigerian Oil and Gas industry reflects the prominence of the sector to the nation’s overall economy " he said.
On his part, the Lagos Council Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Dr.Qasim Akinreti noted that globally, the maritime economy is regarded as the blue economy and much important than the oil sector.
He urged maritime journalists to branch into reporting about the many advantages of the blue economy in order to sustain their welfare.
He also commended the NPA on the training program, saying that there is need for journalists to rise up beyond the elementary of the job and urn their skills.
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