Maritime industry stakeholders have called on the National Assembly to ensure quick passage of the controversial Port and Habour Bill, saying that the Bill remains the solution to reduction of high port charges and port costs.
This was one of the major positions canvassed at the Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime ( TAAM ) Conference held at the weekend at University of Lagos.
Leading the pack of stakeholders who called for the passage of the Bill, Vice Chairman of ENL consortium, a port concessionaire, Princess Vicky Hastrup while fielding questions from journalists lamented that the Bill has been delayed at the National Assembly for too long.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that the Ports and Harbours Authority Bill, 2015, which seeks to repeal the Nigerian Ports Authority Act 1955, as amended, has been passed by the Senate and is awaiting concurrent passage by the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile the ENL boss called on the Federal Government saying "it has delayed for too long, it has been 12 years since the terminal operators have been operating in various port of Nigeria and yet these Bills is still waiting to be passed and assented to by Mr. President"
Apart from Hastrup, maritime lawyer and partner at Akabogu and Associates, Victor Onyegbado expressed fears that if not passed by the 8th National Assembly, the Ports and Habour Bill may go the way of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB).
"The Ports and Habour Bill has passed the third and final reading at the Senate, it requires concurrent passage at the House and then presidential accent for it to become law, this is one year after and we don't know what has become of the bill"
"Those later matters were the lesser of the huddles that the bill has to climb, but those huddles are yet to be climbed at the moment, the 8th National Assembly is going to dissolve by next year and we may have to go all the way back", he alerted.
On his part, Senior Assistant at Banwo & Ighodalo, Mr. Adedoyin Ademola Afun said the Ports and Habour Bill remedies all issues pertaining to port cost and high charges.
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