The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers` Council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello, has suggested improvement in port operations to achieve the desired hub status of West and Central Africa sub-region.
Bello said this in a message to a Town Hall Meeting on Cargo Handling and Port Charges organised by the Publishers of Business and Maritime West Africa; on Wednesday in Lagos.
The executive secretary was represented by Mrs Ifeora Celine, an Assistant Director of the NSC.
Bello said that pronouncement of the Nigerian ports as the hub of the sub-region should march along with action.
He said that Nigeria rated number169, Togo 154, Benin Republic 155 and Niger rated 150 during 2017 global rating.
“Customs should lead by example and not allow agents to be dictating their time of resumption to office, as they are representatives of government.
“I have visited Customs examination centres and officers were not at the place of examination until late in the afternoon.
“Customs officer should be up and doing and any agent that could not meet up with the time should be made to pay a fine,“ Bello said.
He urged stakeholders to always speak with one voice to enable government to do the right thing, adding that government had favourable policy but lacked proper enforcement.
Bello said that the Nigerian ports was working toward engaging the operation of trackers in electronic methods, to free the port access roads from congestion by trucks using port roads as their parking bays.
He called for provision of scanners in all terminals to reduce many cargoes engaged in physical exanimation in order to reduce the time of doing business.
Bello called for more collaboration among the government agencies to enable them to arrive at tangible decisions to tackle the challenges in the maritime industry.
Also speaking, the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Usman, who was also represented by the General Manager, Marine and Operations, Mr Joshua Asanga, said the concessioning era had tremendous improvement in port development.
Usman said that it was easier to implement policy in the private sector compared to the public sector, adding that the concessioning regime had shaped the business attitude of Nigerians, especially in business transaction.
She said that the concession period at the Nigerian ports had reduced cargo dwell time and had also improved the water depth from 10 metres to more than 13 metres which encouraged bigger ships to berth in Nigerian ports.
Usman said that both Lagos and Onne ports received bigger vessels.
The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, urged both government agencies and stakeholders to work together and implement their resolutions.
Peterside, who was represented by Director, Shipping Development of NIMASA, Mr Anthony Ogadi, said that about 85 per cent of Nigerian goods were imported.
He said that all agricultural raw materials and semi-processed goods were being exposed to poor pricing which were indirectly accentuated by unfavourable cargo handing process and port charges.
“With the high cost of imported goods coupled with the accruable lean export earnings from non-oil exports, the nation`s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remains perpetually low
“The Federal Government should be free from the costs it incurred in developing or managing port operations. Operations of the concessionaires can be commercialised as in other developed maritime nations of the world,“ Peterside said.
The Chairman of the occasion, Mrs Margaret Onyema-Orakwusi, said that there was need for government to look into the issue of armed robbery and piracy attack along the Eastern area of the country, adding that this was affecting business.
Onyema-Orakwusi, Chairman, Ship Owners Forum, urged government to intensify efforts in the Eastern area to ensure permanent safety with the help of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.
Ibeke said that both policy makers and provider of shipping services had not been able to reach a consensus on the factors responsible for the state of affairs in the port industry..
He said that the gap between the government and service providers had led to high terminal charges through inadequate cargo handling equipment to innate inclination of Nigerian importers to avoid payment of statutory taxes.
Ibeke said the avoidance of tax led to the desire for outright smuggling.
He said that government should evaluate the benefits of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) as well as the level of implementation of the Common External Tariffs (CET) by ECOWAS member states.
“I believe that the time has come for our government to have a rethink on the underlying philosophy of our trade relations with our neighbours,’’ Ibeke said.
The President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Price Olayiwola Shittu, said the present legal tussle between the Nigerian Shippers` Council, Terminal Operators /Shipping Company Operators had constituted a major logjam in the process of improvement in ports operations.
Shittu said that, “An unregulated operation led to suspicious even where their own demands are made in good faith especially when there is need for increase of their charges’’.
He said that there was need for cessation of legal hostilities between port operators and the Nigerian Shippers` Council, adding that extortion by the operators in the course of service should stop.
The Founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Chief Boniface Aniebonam, said that government should ensure that investors were protected at all times.
Aniebonam said that shipping operations were dollar-denominated, adding that there was need for consideration with regards to dollar rates at the moment.
He said that Nigeria should be re-aligned to prosperity.
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