· Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill is crucial for regulating the maritime industry
· “The registrar of CRFFN is doing a whole lot of work. Sooner or later, it will come to limelight”
How will you assess the maritime industry during the first quarter of 2025?
Let me state that, the Nigeria maritime industry in the last quarter has as usual shown resilience, with not much increased fraction in cargo volumes and trade activities. However, challenges like congestion, infrastructure deficits, effects of the foreign exchange policy administration, heightened and ever increasing inflation rate and regulatory bottlenecks persist, etc. Our African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has not received any improvement. There is nothing new happening there. Customs, on its own part, in the first quarter tried to give credence to its policy on economic operators. We saw that it doesn’t carry that weight as such. These are good policies but the bottom line is that a Single Window has been agreed and for Customs to be a critical agency in that Single Window platform, it has to improve the robustness of its portal. Because a single window is a Central warehouse having one window and several doors. In the first quarter, we also had a public hearing with regards to the tax reform. It’s an ongoing discussion, not yet conclusive, but issues have been joined. Different interest groups have expressed. It has gone to the Executive session and the House is preparing for its own soonest. There was nothing much in the first quarter, but we expect better things in the second quarter. The key industry direction actually happened in the second quarter, following the approval and signing into the law of the marine and blue economy national development policy by Mr President. This is a key industry administrative policy document that drives the whole gamut of operations.
What are your expectations for the second quarter?
One of the key achievements was approving for implementation a national development policy plan for the industry which has never happened before in any industry. Remember that the national transport policy development package has gone through several series since 2010, 2015 up to 2018. It was not approved by the Ministry of Transportation then. But here we are—a President came, within a short period, created a ministry, stakeholders came together and rubbed minds, reviewed the document as supported by the consultant and then it was taken back to the National Assembly and it was approved by the President. So that means anything you are doing in the Marine and Blue Economy with regards to maritime domain must fall in line with the policy directive. So, it’s a guide. That happened in the early stage of the second quarter, like I said. The first thing that actually made waves in the first quarter was the idea of the Single Window being launched. We are trying to educate the stakeholders which is key, because trade facilitation is a very big issue in Nigeria’s international trading space. In the second quarter, we are talking about the B’Odogwu. We are also talking about maritime policy. These are key issues as far as the maritime industry is concerned. Other issues are the same issues you know and will be reporting.
What motivated the establishment of the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre, and how would you describe its impact on Nigeria’s maritime sector so far?
The centre was established to promote research, capacity building, and data-driven decision-making in Nigeria’s maritime sector. Its impact includes enhanced stakeholder engagement, informed policy decisions, and improved maritime operations. Notwithstanding, it is not in our place to be a judge in our own matters.
From your perspective, what are the most pressing research gaps in Nigeria’s maritime industry that require urgent attention?
Key research gaps include maritime safety, environmental sustainability, digitalization, industry regulatory quests, professionalism questions and economic impact assessments. Addressing these gaps can inform policy decisions and drive industry growth. Explaining each of these factors is as good as dealing with a whole topic presentation.
What kind of data-driven insights has the Centre provided recently to maritime stakeholders or government agencies?
The Centre has provided and is still providing insights on trade patterns, cargo volumes, policy concerns and port performance, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions. I don’t need to catalogue the center’s bulletins on key industry issues, because your tabloid did publish and reported our positions over critical industry concerns.
The Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill of the Nigerian Shippers Council seems to be making some progress, but has not yet gotten Presidential assent. Following past antecedents, what are your thoughts on the Bill?
The bill’s passage at the national Assembly is a healthy development, because this bill is crucial for regulating the maritime industry. As such, it is not expected that the stakeholders should go to sleep, until Mr President graciously assents to the bill, we will continue to advocate for the bill enactment to enhance industry efficiency. You know one good thing that has happened to the maritime industry is a change of a particular region trying to front leadership. No matter how you look at Tinubu’s administration, to a larger extent it gives room for professional input in certain policy arrangements. Forget about who was appointed whether you are Igbo or Yoruba, they look at the critical issue not at the issue of reform. I can assure you, I am not an industry predictor or prophet, but you see with the level of explanation made across to Mr. President he is going to accent this very bill soonest, just watch out. So if you are following the trend in the maritime industry you know that the problem or the bane of this industry has been the supremacy tussle among the agencies. That has brought underdevelopment over the years. And I am very happy with the new tax reform because it tries to bring every other agency legislative enablement into caution especially with regards to revenue concerns, removing it from their hands. The change that is forthcoming in the maritime industry as a whole in the few months ahead will be a surprise to so many people. Let me not go into details.
If you are following the pace of what is happening at the Nigeria Shippers’ Council, the ES/CEO Pius Akutah has never disappointed in any of his assignments. Go and check. He may not be saying much, but he follows the issue as far as the Council is concerned and he is a goal-getter. He understands as much the importance of having an industry centrally free, an ombudsman. He understands it very well and he is not trying to witch-hunt anybody, but trying to make other agencies understand this. It is just to set the rules and basic industry standards. I don’t want to talk about the manipulation, exploitation, distortion within the shipping line and other service providers. I don’t like talking about that again, because I know what the new policy government will do and some of these things will fizzle out on its own. It starts with the policy. And that is why I am very happy with this very marine ad blue economy policy. Because under it, we can now go back to look at certain things and tell the government this policy will compromise this very programme. That is implementation.
There seems to be a new wave of proliferation of freight forwarding associations. What’s your take on this?
The proliferation of associations usually leads to fragmentation and inefficiency. As such the CRFFN Regulation 2010 provides for the streamlining of these associations and promoting industry-wide collaboration, so as to enhance the sector’s effectiveness. I am sure the new Registrar has an administrative and redemptive programme in this regard. Most of what’s contemplated as proliferation is a function of regulations, which has been provided for, except for implementation.
The Customs B’Odogwu system seems to be making some progress as the new bride of freight forwarders against Webb Fontaine. What are your thoughts on this?
The system has potential benefits, including increased efficiency, promote transparency, reduced costs, boost economic growth, etc. However, its implementation should be carefully managed to avoid unintended consequences. Good enough, the portal has been test-ran on pilot stages. The reality of the moment being that, the NCS is opening up its portal to align with the single window standard ICT provisions for a robust engagement and integration. Web Fontaine was assigned by the federal government to assist customs in developing and modernizing the system. The same Web Fontaine engaged another consultant. It was contracted to be a pre-shipment agent under the same contract. I don’t want to go into the amount paid out to Web Fontaine. If you are an insider, you’ll see why customs are saying enough is enough. We now have the Customs Modernization Project Limited. They are the ones modernizing customs. They are the ones acquiring scanners. Then what other services do Webb Fontaine want to give to customs? Customs has since launched NICIS 1 and 2. They were supposed to go to 3, but because of the Single Window, they have to upgrade. In fact, if you leave most of the customs officers trained in this ICT arrangement, they can develop better software. B’Odogwu is coined from Igbo which means efficiency, dignity, and integrity. That’s the meaning of Odogwu; if you put it in an Igbo cultural interpretation. The B’Odogwu will boost the integrity of customs operations. They designed the system in a way that it boosts trade. It creates transparency. It reduces time for customs. This is what we call accountability. That’s what B’Odogwu is trying to do. Yes, the system is run over time. It will be automatic. Customs is not ignorant of the fact that there are people who also want them not to succeed. If you have listened to the last session I did when I was commending the CG of Customs, I talked about the bandwidth. That issue should be reconciled.
The Chinese – Nigeria Currency swap still seems vague to industry stakeholders. What are your thoughts on this?
If you have been following the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre’s bulletin, you will agree with me that this issue has been extensively addressed in one of its releases. Let me reiterate that the currency swap could enhance trade and investment between Nigeria and China. However, its implications for the maritime industry requires careful consideration. Again, let’s not forget that Nigeria as a nation is highly indebted to China, hence, the Center had also cautioned on parts of the pitfalls of Chinese loans/ indebtedness.
The CRFFN is yet to have a constituted Governing Council. How do you think these can be addressed?
The non-constituting of the governing council of the CRFFN, is not the making of the Honorable minister, because, there are pending court cases instituted by the immediate past governing council, and one of the issues under contention is the tenure ship of the governing council. So, simply put, the lack of a constituted council hinders the CRFFN’s effectiveness. So it is not out of place, if stakeholders advocate for the council’s establishment, in order to ensure the Council optimal function and utilization. Professional stupidity has been our bane. What has promoted this bane is selfishness, greed, not having professional interest or where we have personal interest override professional interest. But I thank the minister for his wisdom to get a freight forwarder and make him a registrar and work closely with him. The registrar is doing a whole lot of work. Sooner or later, it will come to limelight. Nature abhors a vacuum; the Minister has just bridged the vacuum. Anything done now can be treated under the doctrine of necessity which was also provided for. If the minister chooses, he will stay quiet, the case will be shifted to next year, and it continues to shift. It is we that will look at this profession and forget our personal interests and look at the professional interest and call for a meeting. I have suggested to the registrar to proceed on a roundtable and solve this issue if we want professional servicing and development in the freight forwarding sub-sector. Our professional stupidity is still our bane. I pray that every well-meaning professional freight forwarder gives peace a chance, supports the registrar and let’s get our profession on the right track.
What are your thoughts on the rhetoric of the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) and its implications for indigenous shipping development?
The CVFF is crucial for promoting indigenous shipping. Ensuring transparency and accountability in its disbursement is essential for achieving its intended objectives. However, you recalled that, in addition to suggesting the ideal disbursement methodology to be adopted, the Center equally made case before for the Honorable Minister, recommending for a forensic audit of the fund before disbursement, but, from the body language of the shipowners, it appears, they can’t wait further for the disbursement to happen.
