Jones Idemili (Chairman AREFFN Apapa)
It’s a welcome idea for the shippers council to be assigned with other responsibilities as regards regulation, but my worries remain that it must first of all prove to be capable of regulating the maritime sector properly before transmuting to other transport sub sector of the economy in terms of regulation and we want to monitor the council's activities on the maritime sector. However, it is not advisable for government to create a new agency to execute that function since a parastatal of the government has shown interest to carry out that function there is need to encourage such department of the government instead of creating a new outfit.
Paul Ndibe (CILT Nigeria)
It would be wrong to make the Nigerian Shippers’ Council the National Transport Commission, Shippers Council is purely a maritime agency and it would be inappropriate and unprofessional to transform them to now start speaking as the NTC, this means that the Shippers Council as an agency with its mandate an responsibilities as a maritime agency will now be speaking for aviation sector, road transporters, the rail and other sectors of the transport sector, it is wrong. Don't forget that the NTC covers the whole gamut of transportation while the Council deal with shippers, and if you transmute the shipper’s council, there must still be a body put in place to carry out the role of the shippers’ council in the maritime sector. So, I don't support this move at all.
Segun Olapintemi (Nigerian shipper)
I believe the Shippers Council can handle additional role and I am sure that they will be able to mobilize competent manpower to handle the National Transport Commission.
The industry is highly desirous of the National Transport Commission and I am in total support that the Shippers Council should take up that responsibility. They have the experience and sufficient structure on the ground to do it
I know that they have adequate and sufficient manpower to be able to function as National Transport Commission. It is obvious that the NTC will transcend the maritime sector and combine all modes of transportation; including some aspects of air transportation.
A new body can be created, but I am supporting that the responsibilities should be given to Shippers Council, because if a new body is created, it will take a lot of time to take off, but Shippers Council will move in within the shortest possible time.
Chief Osita Patrick Chukwu (Save Nigeria Coalition)
Setting a new body will not make any impact than what the shippers council is doing now, what government should do is to support them fully, because it's like government is silent on the issue of the litigation the council is having in dealing with the concessionaires, is it when they are transmuted into NTC that government will now listen to them? If they transmute now, it means that the Executive Secretary is out automatically, I believe the NTC is being propagated by people who doesn't want the shippers council to exist, meanwhile, other countries of the world has a shippers council, the transport commission is a different ball game, but let the council be supported as a port regulator, we already have a ministry of transport, so why are we having a transport commission? All the parastatals still remain under the ministry of transport, so the NTC is just duplication.
Comrade Mukhtar Adigwe (President SSACTAC, NSC)
The Nigerians Shippers Council has what it takes to pilot the National Transport Commission because as is it now, there is no regulation in the whole country on transportation and that is why everybody does what they like in the transport sector. We have regulator in the communication industry, same goes to bank, aviation etc. I think the Nigeria Shippers Council has the capacity to pilot the transport commission because we have men and women who are well knowledgeable in transport affairs and can take care of the regulation of Nigerian transportation sector. It will be a very welcome idea if the council is given the role to transform into NTC to regulate the transport sector of the country. NSC may not have enough staff strength for that, but the capacity is there to midwife the project.
Ada Akpunonu (Vice Chair, Tin Can Chapter, ANLCA)
The Nigerian Shippers’ Council has not delivered on the responsibility of economic regulation that was given to her by the Federal Government, so I don't see why government should give them more responsibilities in the NTC, none of their policies has so far affected agents and importers positively, they have not really achieved anything, it is better the government form another body to stand as NTC, it has a broader responsibility, but the little responsibility given to the Shippers Council they have failed to perform. I am not interested in that Shippers Council anymore, I don't have confidence in them, they are just a toothless bulldog that has achieved nothing.
Comrade John Oguche (Asst sec. SSACTAC NSC)
I don't think we are carried along on the quest for Nigerian Shippers Council to transmute into National Transport Commission as a union. As far the bill is still pending before the NASS and I can say we are not privy to how the council is working to attain that status. But in a nutshell we can only pray for the council to get that status for the benefit of the transport industry in the country.
Frank Aliakor (ANLCA)
I am not in support for the council to take responsibilities as regulator in the transport sub sector as a whole because the maritime sector has not been taken care by the council as an economic regulator. Today in the maritime sector we have so many issues associated to international trade that the Nigerian Shippers Council is yet to address and it is a setback to the maritime industry; talk less of giving them more responsibilities on other forms of transportation. The council is yet to live up to expectation and I am not comfortable if the government should pass any bill to empower the council to regulate other transport sub sector.
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