By Joshua Yousouph
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s maritime sector have welcomed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent to the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Bill, describing the development as a major step towards strengthening economic regulation at the nation’s ports.
However, while stakeholders applauded the long-awaited legislation, they called for effective implementation, adequate protection for shippers and clarity on the transition from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to the new regulatory agency.
With the President’s assent bringing the long-awaited legislation into law, stakeholders are now looking beyond the celebration to the implementation of the Act and its ability to deliver a more transparent, predictable and competitive port regulatory environment
Speaking exclusively with Shipping Position Daily last week, the President of the Shippers’ Association of Lagos State (SALS), Rev. Nicodemus Odolo, congratulated the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Dr Pius Akutah, as well as the Council’s board and management, describing the signing of the legislation as a victory for the maritime industry.
According to him, the establishment of a dedicated port economic regulator is a welcome development, likening the role of a regulator to that of a referee in a football match.
Despite his optimism, Odolo expressed concern about the future of shippers under the new regulatory framework, particularly because the legislation establishing the Nigerian Shippers’ Council would effectively be replaced by the new NPERA Act. He said shippers must now become more organised and proactive in protecting their interests under the emerging regulatory structure.
Odolo said the responsibility of protecting shippers would now require stronger coordination among shippers’ associations across the country, stressing that members would not allow themselves to be subjected to unfair treatment. He disclosed that the National Shippers Association of Nigeria was already working towards strengthening its structures and ensuring greater protection for shippers.
Odolo added that efforts were underway to unite shippers across the federation, saying more activities by the National Shippers Association would be unveiled in the coming weeks.
“The responsibility has fallen upon that organisation to ensure that all shippers are protected. With that, I’m working with the National Shippers Association of Nigeria to see that we have our protection in place. Now, the self-protection, we have to protect ourselves and we won’t allow mistreatment of members. So, the responsibility has fallen on us and we have to rise up now.”
Also speaking on the development, Secretary of the Association of Bonded Terminal Operators of Nigeria (ABTON), Haruna Omolajomo, said the formalisation of the Council’s regulatory role through legislation was a welcome development.
According to him, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council has effectively been performing economic regulatory functions even before the passage of the new law, making the development more of a legal strengthening of an existing responsibility.
“Them having been appointed as a regulator is not new. They have been doing that; it’s just that they are trying to put it into law now. I don’t think we can have any issue with that. What I know very well is that we need a regulator. If they now put it into law, it’s a welcome development.” Omolajomo said.
From a freight forwarder’s perspective, the Tin Can Port Chapter Public Relations Officer of the African Association of Professionals Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APPFLON) Clinton Okoro, however said the passage of the Act should not be mistaken for immediate transformation in the port sector, stressing that stakeholders would only be able to properly assess the impact once implementation begins.
Okoro noted that the law was still very new and that critical details concerning its implementation had yet to be made public. “For some of us, the thing is still on paper. The period of implementation has not been talked about yet,” he said.
He expressed cautious optimism over the development but urged stakeholders to wait for the implementation stage before making definitive judgments on its effectiveness.
