Stakeholder Advocates Harmony, Integration In Maritime Sector

The Chairman, Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority, Dr Chris Asoluka, has said that there is need for harmony and integration in the maritime sector in order to ensure strong advocacy in the sector.
He said this while presenting a paper titled, “Nigeria Maritime Sector in the Next Five Years: Deciding Where We Want To Be,” in Lagos, recently.
Asoluka, blamed part of the constraints in the industry on the attitude of its leaders.
According to him, policies must be linked with development, thus the need for harmony and integration among the stakeholders.
He pointed out that if such position was kept, all the “dilemmas in the sector would be turned into development”.
Earlier in his remarks, the chairman of the event, Mr Otunba Folarin, pointed out that the maritime sector was key to the country’s economic development.
He listed inefficient manpower development, low capacity building and inadequate government regulations as some of the issues militating against the growth of the sector.
Folarin, also called on the government to act on the outcome of the recently held National Discourse, adding that its result was important.
Also speaking, the Acting Director-General, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr Haruna Jauro, said the sector was in a good footing despite occasional setbacks.
Jauro, who spoke through the Head, Cabotage Services Department, Captain Sunday Umoren, said the agency would soon conclude on some plans that would better the lots of seafarers in the country.
While noting the constraints placed by customs in trade facilitation he also called for the upward review of terms placed on foreign-owned vessels by the government.
The Tide gathered that the event was designed to remind policy makers and politicians of the critical role the maritime industry plays in the  development of Nigeria’s economy.