Mr Christopher Okorie, a shipping practitioner, has urged the Federal Government to encourage local production of exportable goods to revive the moribund export line of the maritime sector.
Okorie, who is also the Chairman of Phonic Marine Services Ltd. (PMSL), made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Yesterday.
He said that Nigeria was losing billions of naira in revenue daily due to poor attention being paid to the maritime sector.
Mr Christopher Okorie, a shipping practitioner, has urged the Federal Government to encourage local production of exportable goods to revive the moribund export line of the maritime sector.
Okorie, who is also the Chairman of Phonic Marine Services Ltd. (PMSL), made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Yesterday.
He said that Nigeria was losing billions of naira in revenue daily due to poor attention being paid to the maritime sector.
Okorie, a member of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, also advised government to invest in the maritime industry to create wealth and reduce unemployment.
According to Okorie, government should encourage made-in-Nigeria goods that could be exported.
“Maritime industry to my view, will strive higher if more goods are produced for export.
‘’If local content policy is totally enforced within the oil sector, it would create the enabling environment for maritime sector to boom,’’ he said.
The maritime expert identified cash crops like palm oil, cocoa, cotton, ginger, and groundnut as capable of creating wealth for the country through marine operations.
‘’Ships have the capacity to convey as many bags of cocoa, groundnut and tins of palm oil to anywhere in the world.
‘’And as they move, money accrues into the treasury of the nation.
“If the marine industry is not reformed, Nigeria will continue to lose billions of naira and create room for foreign domination of the sector,’’
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