The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has urged the President Muhammadu Buhari to reintroduce theWar Against Indiscipline (WAI) as part of measures to fight corruption in the maritime sector and the country in general.
The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has urged the President Muhammadu Buhari to reintroduce theWar Against Indiscipline (WAI) as part of measures to fight corruption in the maritime sector and the country in general.
The association, through its Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT); Aare Sanni Shittu in an exclusive chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos, last Friday suggested to the Federal Government that the maritime sector has the potentials to turn around the fortunes of the nation, even as he called on both the President and his Vice; Professor Yemi Osinbajo to properly beam their searchlights on the maritime industry for national and industrial development.
According to him, the president and his vice should monitor business activities in maritime agencies like the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigeria Customs Service, saying that the se parastatals turn-in foreign currencies for the government through ship turnaround time, levies on ships in Nigerian ports and duty payable on importation.
The former President of ANLCA also suggested that the President should establish an emergency room that can will be chaired by the President to serve as a way out for the challenges facing the maritime sector.
He said the maritime sector remains a money-spinning sector, only if it is well harnessed.
The ANLCA Vice Chairman BoT added that, "if Mr President can create an emergency room on power, maritime, rail and good roads, then we can say we have bail out for the economy growth"
Shittu lamented that the deplorable state of the roads leading to the seaports in Lagos is an eyesore and Nigerians working in the ports environment are scared to leave their respective homes for work daily.
He further urged the Buhari led government to weight any form of appointment for the maritime agencies and even the transport ministry, pointing out that Nigeria wealth and fortune rely heavily on the industry.
"Let him bring in an emergency room that will be chaired by him and the vice president and with people with like minds, it is not even a matter of appointing minister and CEO to the maritime, because to me it’s not the best"
Speaking on the arbitrary charges by shipping companies and terminal operators, the ANLCA boss urged the president to set up an ad hoc committee to overseas the affairs of port pricing.
He described the Nigerian ports in the area of charges as the worst, stressing that it has led to inflation in the country.
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