Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho was a Minister of Interior under President Goodluck Jonathan. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of Genesis Worldwide Shipping Company and Integrated Oil and Gas. In this interview, he speaks candidly with our correspondent, OLUYINKA ONIGBINDE, delving into the challenges facing Nigeria’s maritime industry, offering insights on issues ranging from the delay in the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund to the dominance of foreign interests in the shipping sector. With his extensive industry experience, Iheanacho provides perspectives on other sundry industry issues
What would you say are the current challenges in the maritime sector?
Well, when you say current challenges, that is a very broad question. I would like you to narrow it down.
There are issues with the drop in importation; what do you have to say about that?
It is not a maritime issue; it is a trade issue. The economy is contracting, and if the economy is contracting and there is not enough money to import goods, then it is bound to impact upon the means of transport that hitherto brought those goods in or out of the country. So that is what it is. If the economy improves, there will be an improvement in the maritime trade; they are inter-related; you can’t separate them.
There has been a call for port rehabilitation; what is the update?
Yes, you know that a contract has been awarded for the rehabilitation of the Tincan Island Port, and it is a multi-billion-dollar contract. I can’t answer if they have started. All you need to know is that they are aware that the ports need investment, and a budget has been committed to it to carry out that, and someone has won the tender.
What do you have to say about the delay in the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund?
We all contributed to the CVFF, and I feel bureaucracy is the reason the fund is yet to be disbursed. People want to be very careful. It is a political fund, and nobody wants to be accused of rushing off to distribute the fund, and at the end of the day, if it didn’t work, they would hold the person responsible. So, every DG of NIMASA that has been through that position was very careful, and I think that is part of the issues one is facing at this point.
People are saying that the fund belongs to the Federal Government and not shipowners. Do you agree with this?
Well, it must belong to someone. I mean, when you are accruing a fund, it is going into an account, and who owns the account? The owner of the account is the owner of the fund; it doesn’t belong to shipowners. It belongs to the Federal Government. It is a fund that has been accrued by the government, and they have guidelines in terms of how they are going to use it. So, it doesn’t mean that it is a fund that is being kept for shipowners to come and say: “We want to have our money”, they can’t.
But it was contributed by shipowners?
It doesn’t matter. The tax that you contribute to the Federal Inland Revenue Services, do you have a say on how the money is disbursed? You don’t. So that is it. It belongs to the Federal Government. The only thing is that people have got to continue to pressure the government to make them utilize the fund the way it was recommended and meant to be used.
Shipowners are saying that the country is losing a lot to foreign dominance in the maritime sector.
Several things happen to cargoes that leave our shores. First of all, they are taken and transported to foreign refineries, and then you add refining to it and transport it back to Nigeria. And I am saying that if you internalize these things; transporting it out, refining it, and bringing it back, you would have $86 billion that you didn’t have before. It is extraordinary. I don’t know if anybody hasn’t done this basic arithmetic before. If I say it to Mr. President, he will see that it is a huge amount of money for him to realize for projects and all kinds of things.
How do you think this could be addressed?
If the people who are in charge of the government ask a follow-up question and I explain to them, and they carry out the small experiment and they see it, then they know that there is money there. The money is not hanging; if you don’t get it, someone else is getting it. The person who supplies the ship is getting it, and that person is not a Nigerian. The person who owns the refinery is not a Nigerian, but he is getting the money. The person that brings the cargo back here into the country is not Nigerian, but he is getting it. So, these monies are going out every year. So, what I am saying is internalize the process and realize the money yourself.
Dangote Refinery is believed to tackle most of these concerns. Do you think that is still possible?
I am not going to say anything about it; the facts are very clear, and you are a Nigerian. Dangote has finished building his refinery. Left for me, I would say that Dangote should go into the market and try to sell. Dangote would compete with those who supply fuel from outside. If he is cheaper, we would buy from him, but if he is more expensive, we would buy from the other people. But what we don’t want is for someone who is not a supply person to come and insert himself there and say, “I want to be part of it.” You are just putting additional costs where there are not supposed to be any. There are two suppliers now: Dangote on one side and foreign suppliers. Check both of them; whoever is cheaper, that is the one we are going to buy from.
You were once the Minister of Interior. How would you compare what we had then and now?
I haven’t been looking at the Ministry recently to know what they are doing and what they are not doing. Another thing I won’t do is become an examiner to the current minister to talk about the things he did and what he didn’t do. We did our jobs when we were there. The minister that is there now has responsibilities; he would attend to them, and he is trying his best.
Nigerian agro exports are facing some challenges like rejection and poor packaging, among others. How do you think this could be addressed?
It has to be addressed by the owners of the cargo having a look at why the products are described as being of poor quality and then finding a way to deal with the issue. You deal with the issue, including the packaging. I am not a packaging expert, but you have to go and look for standard packaging to which others should adhere. If you find out that yours is deficient, go to a packaging company and ask them to develop proper packaging for you, and you deal with the issue.
What has been the greatest challenge of running a big oil and gas firm like yours?
There are lots of problems. You know we invested billions of our money in building infrastructure in the form of tanks, pipelines, and all of those things. If you don’t have a fair means of cargo being routed to those facilities, if you have a situation where there is an entity that claims to have a right to allocate cargo to those things and does it in such a way that is neither fair nor equitable, then there are lots of problems. Jobs are going to be lost because businesses are going to close down.
Are you encountering such challenges in your facilities?
Well, we are encountering very serious problems, including what I just told you.
Can you estimate how much you have lost to these challenges in recent times?
I can’t tell you; it is huge. In the last two years, I haven’t traded. I lost a lot of money; it’s huge. I can’t tell you; I can’t give you any figures, there are no precise numbers.
How do you think the government can come in here?
Well, to ensure that there is fairness and equity and that whatever we do makes logical sense. Otherwise, there is no point.
Apapa is said to be littered with tank farms. What is your opinion on that?
It is not littered; those tank farms were built because it is necessary to build them. Let me tell you something: if you import a petroleum product or even produce it at Dangote’s refinery, you can’t take that product and throw it straight into the tank of a car. It must make a transit through a depot. Either you are importing, you must take a ship, go down to the mother vessel, collect a product, and take it to a depot and put it there, then trucks would come and take them.
Even if it was from Dangote, he has a huge vessel outside his refinery where he pours all the products that he is making, and from there, other vessels would come and collect. If you don’t allow Dangote to do that, I don’t know how he would distribute them. The distribution infrastructure is a function of demand. It is not a question of whether I like you or not. Is there a demand for it? If there is, can you
