Leke Sanni (President, NPA Branch,MWUN)
Leke Sanni (President, NPA Branch,MWUN)
We thank God to have seen us through the year 2012 to this time, we have been believing that the new year will be a better year in the maritime sector, particularly in the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) as an organisation, we look forward to a better condition of services for the staff, improved package for the members of staff and officers with the intention to make NPA the hub of West Africa, which I believe it could be achieved if all hands are on deck in relation with creation of a conducive environment for the port users and the port becoming customers and port user- friendly and by putting a stop to the excessive charges on imported goods especially by reducing the excessive cost of cargo clearance in the ports.
Abdul Eroje (Deputy Sec. Gen.; Nat. Organiser, MWUN)
I am expecting the year to be a prosperous year. Since the private concessioning of the terminals in the port, the port has been doing wonderfully well; there has been industrial peace in the port. But I think the Government has to do more as it concerns some of the ports in the country, like the Warri port where the draught is very low and the government has not been able to do anything about it. It has made the industry, trade and commerce to be concentrated in Lagos whereby everybody wants to come to Lagos to do business, same with Calabar as well. So I expect the government to come up in 2013 to put down a strong policy so as to protect these ports that is, the Calabar Port and the Warri port because if ships are not patronizing these ports, then the economy of that area will not be booming or viable. And also allowing tank farms to be in the port areas causes havoc in getting access to the port and also imposes security risk as well; therefore, I will urge the federal government to put a deliberate policy in place, if it is possible to relocate these tank farms away from the port area, we have a large area across Tin Can, it is a question of developing that area as oil tank farm area and equally develop water transport system with the collaboration of the Federal Government and the Lagos state Government which will reduce traffic jam in Lagos.
Obiora Madu (CEO, Multimix Academy)
Quite a lot of activities were put in place in 2012; the expectations are that we move from wherever it is we stopped last year instead of the habit of taking two steps forward and three steps backward which has been in the system for awhile. So there is the need for continuity of procedures. The issues concerning maritime education, the Cabotage law, all these need to get active, we have to mark the maritime sector as a sector that is capable of giving us what oil is giving us, and only when we do that we will know that our life depends on it, then we will have to move to the next direction.
Omotosho Francis (SSA to President of ANLCA)
I am expecting a situation whereby the Federal Government will allow the Nigeria Customs Service to go on full e-customs operation, which is in line with the World Customs Organization's and World Trade Organization's new concepts of Customs operations globally. Some of the expected changes or concepts I am looking forward to are: The Pre-Arrival Process, which now replaces the old Pre-shipment and Destination Inspection Practices; Separation of Release from Final Determination and Payment of Customs Duties, Taxes, Fees and Charges; Risk Management; Establishment and Publication of Average Release Time, Single Window and One-Stop-Shop. I also expect the relevant government authorities in the Maritime industry to wake-up from their sleep and focus more on their statutory responsibilities. I also expect all other Authorized Economic Operators, Authorized Service Providers and Authorized Traders to also join the train of new era of technological advancement and concepts of carrying out operations in the maritime industry. The world is not waiting for Nigeria; very soon the world will take off on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures.
More is expected from the Nigerian Ports Authority, NIMASA and Nigerian Shippers Council, I expect them to re-assess the operations of all foreign shipping companies in Nigeria and also spell-out new conditions of re-registration that will clinch into the new procedures and new ways of operations expected in this year 2013 in Nigeria.
Valentino Burro (Stakeholder)
I want the industry to streamline and consolidate on all the policies and activities of last year and previous years since the maritime industry is an industry where there have been some policies and procedures , therefore we should streamline our work on the policies and procedures that have been involved over time, let there be certainty that this is what the industry want to do and this is what they are doing because for anything to succeed there must be a system, one of the reasons why we are not moving forward in Nigeria is that we do not have a system, there has never been continuity on plan which has been in existence previously, whereby whatever happens in the past guides the present and lays plans for the future. I am not saying there must not be any development but, there must be a benchmark, a procedure which must be linked to something.
Julius Efokpor (Sec.Gen;Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers)
I will say the industry fared better than what it was yesterday, from the association we are working towards a better understanding, a greater improvement on the system. While in the maritime industry, we cannot be turning back the hands of the clock. We are expecting the Maritime Labour Convention to be domesticated this year, we are also looking forward to our certificates being accepted worldwide, since the issuance of certificates is not a bilateral arrangement, we are also looking forward to NIMASA going into bilateral arrangement with Singapore, we also want to ensure that NIMASA forges ahead in the industry, so as to be recognised, because the relationship with IMO is not good enough, it however needs a better relationship with them.
Ademola Irinyemi (Ex-Registrar, IFFN)
Government should fund professional institutions, they should put good investments into that so that at the end of the day, they will be able to groom the youths to be professionals so as to cover up the fewer ones that have been professionals in the industry. The government must ensure that we also invest in the construction of the road network that links the port because they are deathtraps to those that ply the road. They should ensure also that we have a better clearance procedure where the importers, the freight forwarders can take the delivery of their consignments within 24 hours, which will to a large extent boost or compel some level of patronage in the Nigerian seaports. Whatever bills that have been pushed from the Nigerian Maritime Industry to the house of senate or representative should be passed, so that the maritime industry will move up the ladder as desired. The indigenous shipping operators should be empowered and should also be able to participate in the global business so that we can have good money coming into the country.
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