Maritime
Body Calls For Proper Ports Regulation
President, National Association of Stevedoring Company, Mr Bolaji Sunmola, has called on the Federal Government to ensure proper regulation of ports’ operations in the country in order to address the ‘ambiguity’ hindering their smooth operations.
Sunmola who made the call at a forum recently in Abuja, noted that there were a lot of loopholes in the operations of the nation’s ports and called for urgent measures by the Federal government to tackle the problems.
He said that with proper legislation, problems such as encroachment of ports’ operations by some terminal operators would be addressed.
“We need a proper government clear cut regulations to say that this particular kind of service is scheduled under this category so that there will not be any ambiguity in terms of who is doing what and who is not.’’
Sunmola, who described stevedore as master in cargo handling, attributed the problem between them and terminal operators on port concession undertaken by the Federal Government five years ago.
He suggested that in order to ensure proper management of port activities, cargo handling should be rested in the hands of stevedore, who he described as ‘’professional’’.
“Prior to port concessioning to the parent organisation, a decision by the federal government to regularise that part of industry, like the days of port decongestion which cannot be done without our input, for concessioning too we are not complaining.’’
“But then there are some loopholes which have not been completely locked by the government, this is what we are still yearning that government should do for us, there is nowhere in any country where the issue of cargo handling is left into the hands of foreigners.
‘’It has its own attendant risk problems that is why we are saying cargo handling has to be in the hands of the masters who are the stevedoring companies. By the Act that bring us into existence we are basically a complete indigenised operators.’’
Reacting to the crises between the company and jetty operators, Sunmola said that there were crises existing between the two organisations.
He said that Stevedoring were the eye of the government at every jetty, adding that they collaborate with the port operators and ensure their security.
According to him, only those appointed jetty operators that have skeleton in their cupboard will have a problem to grind with stevedoring services.
Our correspodent reports that Stevedoring is an umbrella organisation for stevedoring companies operating in Nigeria and are solely in charge of all stevedoring regulatory services.
Stevedoring companies also assist other arms of government to ensure smooth operations of the maritime sector.
The ongoing hunger protests and EndBad Governance in Nigeria embarked upon by Nigerians have paralysed seaport activities across the six Seaports in the country.
Ports operational activities were shutdown at the six nation’s seaports: Tin Can Island Port, Apapa Port, Onne Port, Rivers Port Complex, Warri and Calabar Port.
Àgrieved Protesters took to the streets nationwide to demand an end to economic hardship and bad governance.
The #EndBadGovernance protests, which began in major cities across the country on Monday, August 1,2024, crippled socio-economic activities and forced shops, business centres and commercial activities to shutdown, including air and seaports.
Following the hunger protests, maritime activities were paralysed as all the busy seaports were deserted by port users.
Ships birthed at the ports were not discharging cargos, neither did trucks load consignment to their destinations and to the consumers.
Seagoing vessels with cargos were stranded at the sea as marine workers were not on duty to carry out their marine operations.
Heavy security presence was noticed at major ports, including Apapa, Tin Can, Onne, and Port Harcourt as operations were grounded to a near halt.
Aggrieved youths, students and civil society organisations stormed major streets in various parts of the country, demanding that President Bola Tinubu should, as a matter of urgency, review or discard some of his harsh economic policies, which have brought hardship to Nigerians.
The protesters armed with various placards chanted solidarity songs, defled heavy downpour to protest harsh governance and hardship in the country.
They called on the President Tinubu government to review its economic policies, saying many Nigerians have been subdued by poverty and frustration since the advent of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
By: Chinedu Wosu
The Federal Government has said it spent over N138 billion in fish import bill in nine months in 2023, saying its yearly fish import bill stands at 2.4 million metric tonnes.
Government said such import bill drains the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Director, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Wellington Omoragbon, stated this during a courtesy visit by the National Working Group on Gender and Blue Economy.
He called on government to tackle challenges facing fishery and aquaculture, including dredging activities.
To address the challenge, Omoragbon said government is launching initiatives to increase local capacity, including locally-designed technologies such as storage facilities and inclusion of women and youths in production.
The Director emphasised the need for state and local governments to prioritise fisheries projects, particularly in supporting women and youth as 70 per cent of the population lack necessary support in the fishing industry.
He highlighted the need for market and technology development to reduce reliance on fish imports.
“The government plans to intervene in the fishing sector, signing an MoU with the Ministry of Water Resources to utilise the country’s water bodies for fishing”, he said.
He acknowledged the skill gap in the sector and called for a need assessment to identify targeted issues across fishing communities.
National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, has charged the Federal Government to implement the Single Window Environment (SWE) to curb corruption-related problems at the nation’s seaports.
In a letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Amiwero noted that apart from curbing corruption-related problems at the seaports, implementation of the SWE has many other benefits.
The Council listed some of the benefits to include provision of standardised information, single entry point, and reduced malpractice associated with import-export and transit-related regulatory requirements.
NCMDLCA also added that “the SWE will help facilitate the accelerated flow of service in Customs release and Cargo clearance, enhance the availability and handling of information, and harmonise better sharing of relevant data across Government system.
“It will reduce malpractice associated with Import- Export and Transit regulated requirements, provide trade related government information and receive payment of duties and other charges”.
The Council added that the provision of Section (1a) of the Customs Act provide for lead agency and one stop-shop process under the control of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The implementation of SWE is expected to simplify the administrative process, reduce costs, and enhance the availability and handling of information, making trading easier for both government and private sector stakeholders.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic
