In a significant legislative milestone, the Nigerian Shipping and Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill 2023 has successfully passed the second reading at the House of Representatives.
The bill, aimed at repealing the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act Cap N133 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) and introducing the Nigerian Shipping and Port Economic Regulatory Agency Act, aligns with the vision set by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola.
An official statement signed by Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) Assistant Director, Public Relations, Rebecca Adamu noted that the Chairman of the House Committee on Shipping Services, Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki, presented the bill on Wednesday, highlighting the historical context and emphasizing that the government designated the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as the Port Economic Regulator in 2015.
Dasuki shared insights from the government’s gazette in 2015, emphasizing the objectives of creating an effective regulatory regime for Nigerian ports following their concession. The scope of the regulation covered all port stakeholders, controlling tariffs, rates, charges, and other related economic services.
He pointed out that the existing NSC Act, operationalized as a regulation since 2015, designated the NSC as the interim port economic regulator with administrative backing from the Federal Government. To fully empower the Council for its regulatory role, Dasuki stressed the importance of repealing the NSC’s Act.
In his words: ‘‘If you go through the documents before us, you will see that there is a gazette by the Federal Government in 2015. In that gazette, the Federal Government highlighted what the Shippers’ Council is actually doing today.
‘‘The Federal Government noted that the objective of the regulation is to create an effective regulatory regime for the Nigerian ports after the concession of the Ports. Port does not mean the Nigerian Ports Authority alone. It also means all the stakeholders in the ports, for the control of tariffs, rates, charges and other related economic services’.
‘‘The Shippers’ Council’s gazette is being implemented today as a regulation and not as an act. The Regulations provided that the NSC shall perform the role of interim port economic regulator with the administrative backing of the Federal Government. The Regulations further provided that from the commencement of this regulation in 2015, every regulated service provider in the Nigerian ports shall register with the Council. And as at today, they are answerable to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council’’, Dasuki added.
Recall that the NSC, established in 1978 to protect the interests of Nigerian shippers, had its mandate expanded in 2015 to include Economic Regulation of the port. This expansion necessitated the review of the NSC Act, leading to the current Nigerian Shipping and Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill 2023.
The successful second reading of the bill marks a crucial step toward the realization of enhanced regulatory measures within the maritime sector, contributing to the overall economic development and efficiency of Nigerian ports.
