Barr. Osuala Nwagbara (Maritime Lawyer)
I know that the National Transport Commission bill has been before the National Assembly for close to 10 years and the Merchant Shipping Act and Cabotage Act were also introduced for amendment. Some of the amendments in the Cabotage Act are geared towards comprehensive definition of what a vessel is and the increase in the penalties for flouting the Cabotage Act. I think that the bills having passed through the necessary readings are due for assent and I will urge the President to assent to them because they will go a long way in strengthening the Maritime industry and the nation’s economy at large.
Captain Tajudeen Alao (National President, Master Mariners)
The passage by the National Assembly is not important as the input into the making of those Bills. Were the stakeholders carried along? Were the contents discussed at the grassroots before being taken to the National Assembly? Many people did not hear about the public hearing. Many people had to pay their way to Abuja. We would have condemned a lot of things inside it. To me, there is not enough input from the key players, this is important. Going round using NIMASA’s money which is primarily for the promotion of this kind of thing to get this to the grassroots for the input of the people before going to Abuja. NIMASA took it to Abuja and it was opposed because the Cabotage Act cannot work as it is. If it does not see the light of the day, we cannot be hoping for what will not come out. I hope the needful will be done before they go for an accent.
Mrs Ify Akerele (Vice President, Nigeria Chamber of Shipping)
The delay has nothing to do with us in the maritime sector. It is as a result of a process which is very frustrating. We in the private sector are desperate for this thing. If we had started the National Transport Commission, everything would have been square pegs in square holes. Let’s not say anything now until after the election. We are looking forward to which candidate will address our issues. But unfortunately they still did not address our issues. The Aviation sector has been very vocal and I can assure you that the Maritime sector led by the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping will become very vocal on this issue. It is high time we had our own sector, even a Ministry of Maritime Affairs. I can only say the delay on our side is that we are not advocating enough and on the government side, it is not really an area they understand or are interested in. All that will be resolved, I can assure you.
Dr. Chris Ebare (Maritime Lawyer)
The Cabotage Act has really slowed down the development of Shipping in Nigeria. I think the review is long overdue and I am urging NIMASA in collaboration with NPA and Shipper’s Council to team up together to ensure that bills scale through at the National Assembly, so that we can have a robust ship development law in place. The same thing applies to the Merchant Shipping Act. We are already working on the international conventions to see how it can meet up with international standards. I know Mr President will sign the NTC bill and other bills particularly the ones that are beneficiary. We can see what he has done with Electoral Act and several other legislations. So it is just a matter of constant reminder through the Attorney General.
Captain Williams Ogunsakin (Master Mariner and South West Director, MESAN)
The amendment of the Cabotage Act is not even the issue. The issue is the willpower to comply. If the original one was totally complied with then, we will be topnotch by now. The Merchant Shipping Act, Cabotage Act and National Transport Commission Bill are interwoven. They are all well prepared but the problem we are having is the political interest. In Nigeria, we want to protect our personal interest more than the interest of the people. If all those things are well followed, that would have been okay, but it started failing from the very day it came out. There should be a serious penalty for non-compliance; like the waiver which has been ignored in the Cabotage Act. We need to follow IMO standards and consider our domestic situations and problems in ratifying them and not to fulfill our personal interests.
Barr. Mike Igbokwe (Maritime Lawyer)
The National Transport Commission Bill is such a beneficial bill; should not be delayed in the course of passing them as an Act of the National Assembly. It is painful that most of the time our lawmakers will wait until the last minute towards the tail end of their tenure before they start rushing through some vital legislation, especially those of the Maritime sector. If care is not taken, these bills may not see the light of the day which will be a pity. But I will not be surprised because we have gone through this route before. That is why I really don’t really have much confidence in the fact that they will pass it. But I pray that they do because we really need this amendment to set a lot of things right unless there’s some vested interest that has been intervening and preventing them, so that the status quo may remain. So my prayer is that Mr. President will get it assented to. If he has any challenges of contradicting positions, those things can always be resolved at the National Assembly and at least we can have the Act enacted before they leave office.
Captain Thomas Kemewherigha
The truth of the matter is that I was at the National Assembly during the amendment, but from that day till today, many waters have passed under the bridge. What do you think that a stakeholder outside their cartel will say that will change things? Nobody, it is only God. People have made their submissions but all to no avail. Anything they like, they should do. You will be surprised that nothing will happen to those bills and they will go back to the next Assembly for them to deliberate on. If you are not in their cartel then you can do nothing. We pray that God will touch them and they do what is needful.
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