The Federal Government has concluded plans to provide intervention funding for the development of the maritime industry following such intervention to other sectors of the economy.
Speaking to our correspondent in a telephone interview, Senior Special Assistant to the President on maritime matters Mr. Leke Oyewole said that the fund was part of the outcome of the successful Presidential maritime forum hosted last year in Abuja.
The Federal Government has concluded plans to provide intervention funding for the development of the maritime industry following such intervention to other sectors of the economy.
Speaking to our correspondent in a telephone interview, Senior Special Assistant to the President on maritime matters Mr. Leke Oyewole said that the fund was part of the outcome of the successful Presidential maritime forum hosted last year in Abuja.
Oyewole disclosed that the report of the retreat is ready and that the President has redirected that the Economic Management Team look into the report and make recommendations that will be brought to him before the funding is made available.
He explained that the Economic Team is supposed to look into the report and come up with possible recommendations, including funding for a rapid development of the maritime sector.
Operators in the maritime industry, particularly, local shipping operators have protested the exclusion of the sector from the provision of intervention funding to different sectors of the economy.
Reacting to the exclusion of the maritime sector from government’s intervention funds , Secretary of the Indigenous Ship owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) Captain Niyi Labinjo said that the government has not shown seriousness to the development of the maritime sector adding that this has been the same situation with successive governments.
Labinjo noted that more than US$500million was given to the aviation industry; US$200million was given to the entertainment industry while nothing was given the maritime sector.
He stated the sector was capable of generating 5million jobs at any point in time noting that the industry has suffered the high level of under development due to the neglect by passed government.
He explained that the industry loses more than N1Trillion every year, compared to the N100Billion lost in the aviation industry.
The retired Naval Officer said that they have done everything possible to make government see the need to invest in infrastructural development of the industry, but all their efforts have not yield any fruit.
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