The National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, NCMDLCA, have blamed the under-development of the maritime industry on the failure of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA that have both diverted from their core functions.
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| National President of NCMDLCA, Lucky Amewiro |
President of NCMDLCA, Lucky Amewiro, who disclosed this in Lagos, said while NIMASA has abandoned its core function of improving local shipping capacity and proving shipping infrastructure, the NPA on the other hand has left its function of maintenance, control and management of the ports as well as regulating traffic within the limits of the ports or approaches to the ports.
Amewiro explained that both government agencies have since abandoned these core functions to seek other things that are not beneficial to the industry.
The NCMDLCA boss quoted section 17 sub-section four and five of the NIMASA Act, “The agency may apply monies in the Fund (Maritime Fund which is 25 percent of its revenue) to promote the development of indigenous shipping and shipping infrastructure in Nigeria.
“The beneficiaries of the Fund under sub-section (4) of this section shall be Nigerian citizens and companies.”
He pointed out that the Agency is focusing too much on revenue collection as if that is its core function.
Amewiro also noted that section 32 of the establishing Act of the NPA, stated that “the Authority may, with the approval of the minister, make regulations for the maintenance, control and management of any port and for the maintenance of good order therein, and, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, may make regulations for all or any of the following purposes, that is –
“Regulating traffic within the limits of a port or the approaches of a port.” He noted that after the concession exercise, NPA is just collecting levies and charges from port operators without actually doing anything of the above function.
However, Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr.DakukuPeterside has said that the Agency’s 2017 budget is tailored towards the strategic growth and other developmental initiatives of the maritime sector.
The NIMASA boss stated this during the 2017 budget defence session at the National Assembly in Abuja before the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Chaired by Senator Ahmed SaniYerima.
He noted that the Agency is committed to actualizing its core mandates and to grow the maritime sector for the benefit of indigenous operators and the entire nation.
He said that the Agency targets strategic growth in five critical areas in the year 2017 namely; maintaining maritime safety and security to bring piracy to its lowest level, maintenance of a clean maritime environment and enhanced port state control, human and infrastructural capacity as well as sanitizing the maritime environment to eliminate sharp practices, while increasing revenue generation for economic growth.
He NIMASA boss also assured the Committee members that revenue leakages will be plugged through the Agency’s digitalisation processes, he noted that NIMASA will also embark on an aggressive debt recovery programme, all geared towards enhancing the efficiency of the maritime sector.
Efforts to reach the General Manager in charge of Public Affairs, NdunofitOffiong, proved abortive as he did not pick his call neither did he respond to a test massage sent to him.
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