The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Benjamin Ezra Dikki, has tasked the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) to uphold international best practice if the Council must succeed in its new role as economic regulator of the ports.
The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Benjamin Ezra Dikki, has tasked the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) to uphold international best practice if the Council must succeed in its new role as economic regulator of the ports.
The BPE boss acknowledged that under the current dispensation, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council is empowered to provide economic regulation for the ports to ensure that customers were fairly treated, even as he noted that there is need to improve efficiency, eliminate corruption and unnecessary bureaucracy which delay cargo clearance.
Dikki, who was represented by Mallam Uba Audu Mohammed, the Deputy Director in charge of marine transport at the BPE, canvassed the positions in a presentation at the retreat on the Draft Regulation for Implementation by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as Economic Regulator organized in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice, which held in Kaduna recently.
The BPE chief executive enjoined the Council to ensure a highly professionalized and motivated staff whose core values would be due process, transparency and accountability with credibility. He added that a “regulator’s credibility depends on professional neutrality and transparency.”
“Economic regulation requires much more than just competent economic and financial analysis, but must also have the ability to manage complex interaction with regulated firms, consumers, politicians, court officials, the media and a range of other interests”, he advised.
Dikki also tasked the Council to, as a matter of principle; ensure that its regulations sustained private investment in infrastructure development, which is one of the rationale for the concessioning of the ports. He contended that regulations should focus on market rules that encourage free entry and exit with entry rules, the right tariffs, quality of service, ensure access for the players, incentive regulations and conducive environment.
He noted that the market in the port sub-sector is very dynamic and requires that regulations should also align with the prevailing environment in terms of tariffs in a manner that it should not strangulate the service providers. To him, the regulator needs to always strive to be ahead of the operators who are usually very smart in their thinking, more so as there are myriad of roles to be played at the same time.
In his opening remarks, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Shippers’ Council; Barrister Hassan Bello, expressed gratitude to BPE for the leading role it has always played in economic reforms in the various sectors of the economy.
He also recalled that when the Shippers’ Council was named as economic regulator by the Federal Government in March, the Vice President mandated the BPE to draw up a work plan which the NSC is now working with.
Bello added that his agency has been drawing from the Bureau’s reservoir of experts as both agencies have been collaborating from inception.
Bello enjoined all the participants which were drawn from Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Justice, BPE, NIMASA and other organisations in the maritime sector to work diligently to come up with the final document to be forwarded to the Attorney General of the Federation for review.
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