A cross section of practitioners in the Nigerian maritime industry has carpeted the Presidential committee on port reforms, accusing it of ineptitude.
The appraisal came about six months after the committee was inaugurated by the minister of finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala amidst high expectations among port users.
Majority of those who spoke to our correspondent rated the committee low in areas such: control of traffic into and out of Apapa, uncontrollable activities of shipping companies as well as activities of the Nigeria Customs Service.
A cross section of practitioners in the Nigerian maritime industry has carpeted the Presidential committee on port reforms, accusing it of ineptitude.
The appraisal came about six months after the committee was inaugurated by the minister of finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala amidst high expectations among port users.
Majority of those who spoke to our correspondent rated the committee low in areas such: control of traffic into and out of Apapa, uncontrollable activities of shipping companies as well as activities of the Nigeria Customs Service.
They specifically scored the committee low on how it has failed to solve the problems of Apapa traffic, for which they have accused the Professor Sylvester Monye-led committee of lacking the strength to enforce its orders concerning the truck drivers who have taken over the very-stategic expressway.
One of the respondents; a licensed customs agents, Mr. Livingstone Ndukwu said that “the committee has not done anything, how many times have they been to the port, what government officials do is to arrange police men on the road any day they want to visit the port so that their won’t be traffic, if government really wants to know what the true condition of the port is, they should try and come to the port on an ordinary day so that they can face what we are facing. The access roads are still blocked and there is no easy access to the port, I left my house 9am this morning and I got to the port 2pm”.
According to another stakeholder, Mr Owolabi Omotayo, “the overall performance of the committee is not satisfactory at all, it has not been felt, if you go round now, you will still see trucks parking all around the port access road and disturbing movement, their presence there is now even killing other small businesses along the axis, many business have relocated from the Apapa/ Oshodi axis because of the menace of the trucks and tankers, they excrete and destroy the environment,…. the problem is still there and glaring to everybody every day, the committee has to do more than this”
Members of the high-profile committee include: the DG of Bureau of Public Enterprises; Ms Bolanle Onagoruwa, special adviser to the President on maritime affairs, executive secretary, Nigeria Shippers’ Counci, Capt Adamu Biu, managing director of Julius Berger, the CEOs of: Emzor Pharmaceuticals; Mrs Stella Okoli, Coscharis Group; chief Vincent Maduka, Zinox Computers; Mr Leo Stan Ekeh, Omak Computers,Mrs Florence Seriki and Flour Mills; Chief Ukpabi as well as the national president, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, among others.
A frontline member of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Chief Achike Molokwu also took a swipe at the committee’s way of handling the shipping companies, he told our correspondent that: “the Professor Monye- led committee is there and shipping companies are milking Nigerians…..and it has not been addressed by them, so what are we saying? The services rendered by the terminal operators are poor, so how can I say I am satisfied with the committee on port reform where everything remains stagnant in the port.
Also, the National Secretary of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Mr. Increase Uche stated that what the committee enjoys is a favourable media attention; he however declared that the committee has largely left its assignment undone. “What they are supposed to do is yet undone; at least addressing the problems stakeholders are facing in the port system. The port access road is yet to be addressed and it is the responsibility of the committee to address the lingering traffic in the port environment. There has been a catalogue of problems in the port of the terminal operators that is yet to be tackled by the committee.”
“If the Professor Monye committee has yielded any positive result as we read on the pages of news paper, it would have been manifested in the port operations but it has not. Stakeholders have been lamenting on arbitrary charges by the shipping companies and nothing has been done to that effect, so what are their achievements? What the presidential committee should do right now is to address shipping companies on their charges because there is no regulatory agency that oversees their affairs”.
Attempts by Shipping Position Daily to seek the reaction of the chairman of the committee were unsuccessful as telephone calls put across to him were unanswered.
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