Prince Emmanuel Offiong (NCMDLCA)
Prince Emmanuel Offiong (NCMDLCA)
One of the challenges I foresee is that of the terminal operators, because they won't want to be regulated by anybody or government agency. They want a situation whereby they will dictate price to their clients, which overtime has led to series of complaints from the freight agents and their principals. The shippers’ council should watch out for that. Apart from that which I believe will be the major problem for the council, there is the need to employ competent personnel to be involved in the smooth take-off as an economic regulator. However, acting as interim regulator is not really too good for the council, because it will bring about limitations in the scope of their operations.
Comrade Reuben Onyejike (Save Nigeria Group)
Apart from the terminal operators who I see as major threat due to their political influence, the legal backing will also be a major factor the council will face in addressing matters that affect port operation. The Nigeria Shippers’ Council should appoint individual from all strata of the maritime industry for the purpose of how to go about the mandate given to it as a port commercial regulator. It will be a shame at the end of one year if the council fails to address the problem we are facing at the ports.
Comrade Pius David (Stakeholder)
I think that there will be some challenges coming up for the Nigeria Shippers’ Council as regards its new ombudsman role because, because they may not be able to regulate the Customs on their charges, which will be a challenge to them and above all the shipping companies and concessionaires will definitely give them a lot of problems during the process of discharging their duty. We will only pray for the Ports and Harbour Bill to be enacted before all these challenges mentioned will be a thing of the past.
Sampson Chima (NIS Registrar)
The major challenge I foresee has to be that of the legal backing that will enable the Council to perform better. It is one thing for government to empower them through the executive, and another through the legal framework. I expect a situation whereby the council will be faced with so many cases of court injunctions, because it has not been given the complete legal backing by the National Assembly.
George Okafor (NAGAFF, PTML)
This role of the Shippers’ Council is long overdue, but one of the challenges they will have is controlling the other government agencies. For example, the Customs is working based on government policy and you cannot fight government, so shippers’ council should do everything with human face, they should make the industry conducive for all operators; regulation cuts across everyone and they should not focus on one agency alone, they should come to us because we are the ones on ground, they should not hear only Customs or NPA and take a decision, every freight forwarder is compliant now, everybody wants to avoid paying extra duty again, So, this is not an excuse against us again.
Barr. Ada Akpunonu (Vice Chair, ANLCA Tin Can)
The Shippers’ Council has been empowered, but previously, the fear has always been that of implementation, but I know that there is a law that establish them, and now that government has made the pronouncement, we expect a lot from the council, we know they are going to have a lot of challenges. I don't know if they were given powers of enforcement and sanctions, they will need to bring some of the erring operators to book, you cannot continue to be a dog that can bark but cannot bite, if the sanctions are not spelt out in clear terms, it is going to be a big problem. A lot is expected from the council, all eyes are on them, they should not look at things going wrong in the industry and compromise, let them be open.
Ugochukwu Nnadi (NAGAFF Chieftain)
The challenge Shippers’ Council will have is the issue of power tussle, you know that owners of the terminals have links in Abuja, and the Nigerian factor is that once you have link in Abuja, whatever anybody does is not your concern, if they can break this jinx, then they will succeed, the crop of people they have at the council today, I have interacted with them and I know that they are rooted in the system, they know what has been going on, they are not happy with it and they are yearning for change.
Chief Goodluck Onunji (PTML Chair, NAGAFF)
Without being told, we know that the Shippers’ Council is overdue for this task and we also know that now that they are on board, things will move well, the high handedness of the shipping companies and the terminal operators as we see it today is because of the absence of a regulatory institution. The Shippers’ Council should further put heads together with the CRFFN in other to achieve success. The job of the council is not an easy one, definitely there will be challenges, the shipping companies may not come down to the extent that the shippers’ council will want, the NPA may also have a difficulty with the council because initially, NPA also lobbied for this role, but I believe that at the end, it will work out. I will advise the council to work with CRFFN so that we, in the freight forwarding business can give our inputs so that success can be made.
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