*Situation Report on Agencies/Highlights:
*NIMASA: Sustaining Strides on Piracy, Blue Economy…
* NPA/Ports: Landlord’s Burden of Infrastructure Renewal
*NRC/Rail: Confronting Insecurity, Funding Challenges
*NSC: When Poor Financing Confronts Ports Economic Regulator?
* CRFFN: Revitalizing Statutory Roles with POF
* MAN: Expanding Frontiers of Human Capacity Devt
* NIWA: Decongesting Ports and Roads Corridor
* Agenda: Identifying Priority Areas for Sambo Within the Short Period
With about 10 months to stay in office, the Transportation Minister, Engineer Mua’zu Jaji Sambo , on assuming office in July 2022 has so far demonstrated his love for the sector. He has made promises of delivery on infrastructural rehabilitation, among others, in what has left stakeholders wishing he had more time left for such task. In this report, Francis Ugwoke brings situation updates/reviews on statutory obligations of agencies under the Ministry of Transport, pointing out what is on the ground and where the Minister can hasten action to put the industry on high pedestal.….
Engineer Alhaji Mua’zu Jaji Sambo, the Transportation Minister, appears to have a strong passion for the sector, particularly the maritime industry. As a matter of fact, Sambo has demonstrated his passion for the sector. And this may not be unconnected with his background in the sector. He had worked with the Nigerian Ports Authority and Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) where he retired few years ago. When he was first appointed Minister of State for Works, many had wished President Muhammadu Buhari should have moved him to the Transport sector. This prayer was answered when in July last year Sambo was appointed Transportation Minister, taking over from Hon. Rotimi Amaechi who resigned to contest the 2023 presidential election. So far, Sambo after touring most agencies in the transport sector has assured of his readiness to transform the sector. He has continued to make many promises, including rehabilitation of decaying ports infrastructure to pave way for a smooth trade facilitation. However, the biggest question agitating the minds of many stakeholders and observers is whether he will deliver on these promises before leaving office. As Minister of Transportation, he has less than six months left to accomplish some of his promises. He came in July and is expected to leave office for the next administration in May 2023. This indeed leaves him with tight schedule to execute his plans. Incidentally, Sambo has a lot of obligations as far as the agencies in his sector are concerned. Yet observers believe that there will be parameters with which to assess him after he has left office. It is not whether he has accomplished all his promises, but the extent of his efforts and how he was able to address crucial and urgent needs of the sector. Just recently, the cheering news was the approval of the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) by President Muhammadu Buhari. What is however going for Sambo is that most of the agencies had initially keyed into a number of development efforts prior to his appointment. The Minister is expected to understand the issues and developments as fast as possible to be able to give his approval. This has not been difficult for him for obvious reasons. He is an industry person, an engineer for that matter, and some of the technical issues in the sector are clear to him. Agenda Maritime industry stakeholders are excited about the appointment of an industry professional as Minister of Transportation. They showed this when Sambo was announced Minister. But they are anxious as to what he will achieve within such space of time. They have however pointed out urgent areas of intervention of the federal government before handing over to the next administration. Some of the issues were those the former Minister, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi could not tidy up before he resigned to contest the presidential election. Among them include the quest for a national carrier which will further improve Nigeria’s shipping capacity, disbursement of the CVFF for which approval has been given, completion of the rail project with connectivity to the ports. Other issues include rehabilitation of the ports infrastructure, renewal of ports concession agreement with terminal operators whose tenure may have expired. There is also expectation that the Minister should ensure that the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) takes off before he leaves office. Similarly, all eyes are on Sambo on what becomes of the National Transport Commission (NTC) Bill which could not be signed into law by Buhari after the National Assembly forwarded this to him. The former Minister of State for Transport, Senator Gbemisola Saraki had given indication that this will be passed during this administration. But not much of its progress has been heard of since she left. Industry stakeholders expected that Sambo pursues this bill to be passed before the next administration. In the freight forwarding sector, so much is also expected as the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) is without a permanent office. The agency had received N800m approval under Amaechi to acquire a new office, but this was halted when the Board of the Council kicked against the office that was acquired. The allegation is that the property located in Lekki is not worth the N800m value. The Minister had following this halted the move until he carries out his assessment of the situation. Sambo is expected to do this as soon as possible. He can order renegotiation of the amount involved or order that the CRFFN looks for another office space. The Minister is also expected to play an important role on maritime developments bothering on expectations from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) where Nigeria may be seeking an election next year. Development of capacity , key infrastructure, sustaining victory against piracy within Nigeria’s territorial waters and Gulf of Guinea, bilateral relations and deepening of contact with other members are important for Nigeria to win the category C election. The job has already started with the invitation and visit of the IMO SG, His Excellency Kitack Lim to Nigeria recently. But more needs to be done. Sambo needs to be on his mark to see NIMASA map out strategies to win the election. The Minister is also expected to cooperate with other agencies, including the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron for robust water transportation and human capacity building . NIWA and MAN are embarking on a number of development agenda that will need the approval of the Minister to see the light of the day. Situation Report on Agencies The agencies are the foot soldiers of the government without which development cannot be achieved. In the maritime industry, a lot of development efforts are being championed by the agencies to enhance trade facilitation as well as make revenue for the government. This is even moreso considering the dwindling fortunes of the oil sector with a lot of attention shifting to the maritime industry. There is the blue economy project being spearheaded by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) that is expected to have multiplier effect on the national economy. There is also the issue of ports inefficiency in which billions of revenue have been lost. But above all is the ongoing review of the concession agreement by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) that will equally bring about a lot of revenue to the federal government. Among others in different agencies , there is the project of linking the ports with rails that government has continued to promise.
DR. JAMOH
NIMASA: Sustaining Strides on Piracy, Blue Economy… As the apex maritime agency, NIMASA has a lot of statutory obligations. With core mandate in deepening indigenous shipping development, NIMASA indeed has its hands full. To a large extent, the agency has performed creditably. But many stakeholders believe that there is still more to be done. And of course, the agency is currently carrying out a lot of development efforts as far as maritime is concerned, To the Nigerian stakeholders and the international community, the agency has done well in the area of Deep Blue Project or the war against piracy. The rate of piracy incidents in both territorial and Gulf of Guinea has all gone down. What is however expected is that piracy should not be allowed to rise again for whatever reason. The agency is also championing the blue economy project. In 2021, the agency had visited lithoral states as part of the efforts in pursuing the blue economy strategy expected to replace the current oil economy in about 10 years. In a visit to the River state Governor, Nyesom Wike, the Director General, Dr. Bashir Jamoh had called on lithoral states to collaborate with the agency by setting up a committee to work with the agency to identify the state’s areas of comparative advantage in harnessing its vast ocean resources. Jamoh had said, “The Agency commenced the issue of Blue Economy to ensure that we have something that we will fall back on. Let us give ourselves at least within the next 10 years, so we can develop our ocean resources.” Wike had in response thanked NIMASA for looking into the future that Nigeria cannot continue to depend solely on one product and that is oil. Wike said, “There comes a time that the wells will dry up, and when the wells are dried, what is the alternative? Is it at that time we will begin to seek for an alternative? So you are on the right track by identifying that we should go for the blue economy.” The Governor pledged his state government’s readiness to partner with NIMASA on blue economy, deep blue project and human capital development. CVFF Perhaps, what remains a major task for the Minister of Transportation is the expected disbursement of the CVFF. Many industry operators are looking forward to this. The former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, had promised to do this but failed. Many believe that it is possible that the fund may not be there and that the Ministers are yet to say the truth. However, Sambo, on assuming office has affirmed his readiness to disburse the fund. If he succeeds, his name will be written in gold. If he fails, it will go to prove that government may not have told the industry stakeholders the whole truth about what really happened to the fund. But just in December, Sambo announced receiving approval from President Muhammed Buhari to disburse the fund. Sambo has in turn tasked the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance to do the needful. Piracy war For a decade, piracy has been like an albatross on the neck of shippers in Nigeria and West Africa. This has given Nigeria and indeed other West African countries bad image. But beyond that is the cost implication to shippers as they have to pay more in shipping charges to cover the cost of security being claimed by multinational shipowners who hire security onboard vessels to secure shipment to the region. At a point, piracy in the region had overtaken the popular Somalia where years back activities of pirates were nightmare to ships. But Nigeria did not fold her hands and allow the ugly situation to continue. In the past few years, NIMASA has made every effort to address the problem , a development that has yielded good results. As part of the efforts to stop piracy and armed robbery at sea, NIMASA introduced deep blue project leading to the acquisition of a number of equipment, including two unmanned aircraft system, nine interceptor patrol boats and 10 armoured vehicles. The NIMASA DG, Jamoh, believes this will fight piracy. The agency had earlier in June held Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum (GOG-MCF/SHADE) in Abuja where international support was sought for the suppression of maritime insecurity. NIMASA’s DG had during that programme restated Nigeria’s commitment to fight piracy. He said, “Nigeria is improving on her capacity to fight maritime crime by procuring state of the art technology, upgrading human capacity for effective service delivery and deployment of the assets for round the clock patrol, interdiction and reconnaissance with the support of Nigerian Navy and other security agencies we signed MoU. “Indeed we are further encouraged by President Muhammadu Buhari’s support all the time to ensure adequate security of crew members, vessels and cargoes within and around our waters “These newly procured assets would assist us in building on the gains already recorded in the fight against piracy, sea robbery, oil theft, kidnapping, illegal fishing activities and others”. Capacity Building The current effort of NIMASA to improve on human capacity building is taking many forms. The agency has trained so many cadets overseas, notwithstanding myriads of challenges. Early in the year, the agency renewed its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Maritime University, (WMU) Malmo, Sweden, in a bid to enhance capacity building in the maritime sector.
Jamoh had explained this when an MoU was signed. He said, “The collaboration with the World Maritime University by NIMASA is to advance maritime interest while addressing the changing needs of the maritime industry based on sustainable capacity development; as education, training and capacity building play a major role in developing shipping in any nation”.
“Graduates from the WMU who are in the employ of the Agency will serve as Researchers and Resource Persons, Sharing knowledge and hopefully develop a research based sustainable framework to provide solution to issues of insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea”.
Under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), NIMASA said from inception to 2020, “the programme has enrolled 2,041 students, while 892 are now licensed deck and engine officers including naval Architects, the rest are in their final stage of the programme. About 486 of the graduates are now gainfully employed and sailing in both coastal and ocean-going vessels, he said. Imo Election The next election of the IMO category C election is 2023 and there is no doubt that Nigeria is going to try again. Covid-19, among other unforeseen circumstances made it impossible for Nigeria to take part in the election. It was the fourth time Nigeria lost the chance. The last election was in December 2021. In frustration, the former Minister of State for Transportation, Ms Gbemi Saraki, said in June this year that Nigeria will have to suspend further participation until she puts her house in order. In other words, issues of infrastructure bedeviling the sector will have to be addressed before another shot on the IMO category C election. It is therefore no wonder that every effort is being made to address a lot of issues, beginning with piracy. Saraki had noted the successes in war against piracy but stressed that this must be sustained. During the recent visit of the IMO SG, he was shown round Nigeria’s facilities in what was an indication that Nigeria may indeed take another shot. Good enough that Lim commended Nigeria on successes recorded against piracy on her territorial waters and Gulf of Guinea (GoG). Among the issues that featured prominently during the NIMS that will have positive impact or impress the international community about Nigeria’s maritime efforts that will also play positive impact in Nigeria’s quest for the IMO Category c seat is the position of the stakeholders on decarbonisation because of its effect on shipping. Lim was part of the stakeholders discussion on this subject. The Chairperson of the Nigerian Shipowners Forum, Mrs. Margaret Orakwusi, said Africa should be allowed to voice the challenges being faced and indeed seek solutions. Speaking under the theme, -carbonization and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Shipping – Policy and Operational Perspectives from West and Central Africa.’, Orakwusi expressed the challenges of some Nigerian shipowners, particularly those who use smaller vessels. She however added that many who are operating bigger vessels were ready for the new international policy. She said, “We have always wanted to be at the discussion table to be able to express what we are going through as operator and be part of the solution.” “Now, AGO(Diesel) which will power the vessels in the country, is highly regulated and developed according to NNPC specification- it is a maximum of 0.5% of Sulphur that is stipulated and applied. “But when you talk of the ship operating in Nigeria, we deal more with the small crafts. Our source of AGO is very well-known and controlled. Our activities are also controlled. “I advocate that a monitoring group be established to be able to document the quality of AGO that the ocean-going vessels use when they call at our ports. We own smaller crafts and our activities are highly-regulated, but the big vessels come because we are highly import-dependent and do exports too, which are transported by the big vessels.”
BELLO KOKO, MD, NPA
NPA/Ports: Landlord’s Burden of Infrastructure Renewal The hands of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is full , so to say. The organization may be keeping an eye on other deep projects just as the Lekki Deep seaport project is completed. The seaport is slated to flag operations any moment from now. How it does this remains a task ahead considering the absence of rail link, though the federal government is working towards addressing this issue. President Muhammadu Buhari had few months ago during the tenure of Rotimi Amaechi as Minister of Transport promised his administration’s readiness to link the Lekki Deep Seaport with rail line. Buhari had during a visit to the deep seaport directed the then Minister of Transportation to do a memo to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to link the seaport with rail. At a recent event, the current Minister of Transportation, Sambo made it clear that goods from the ports will not be allowed to move be road to avoid the repeat of what happened in Apapa. The statement has gladdened many hearts among the residents of Lekki. It is equally the same for operators of barges who are expected to deploy their equipment for the movement of goods from the seaport. The economic benefits of having the Lekki deep seaport cannot be overemphasized . It is expected that no fewer than 112,000 Nigerians will gain job opportunities from the Lekki Deep Sea port, according to Sambo. Speaking on the project, he said the port which is second in Nigeria after Onne Deep-Sea Port would bring more tonnage and revenue to the port and the country. The NPA under Mohammed Bello Koko is saddled with the supervision of other deep sea projects. The organization is partnering with host state governments. These include the Badagry – Lagos, Ibom – Akwa Ibom , Bakassi – Cross River and Bonny deep seaport in Rivers state. NPA’s MD, Bello had expressed optimism that the approval for the development of a deep seaport in Bonny will be achieved before the end of the life of the present administration. He had during a tour of the Eastern ports added that the initial location of the Bonny deep seaport had to be changed as a result of existing pipelines. He said, “we hope the Minister will get approval for Bonny Deep seaport. It means the country has deep seaports in different locations of the country. I am sure that in the life of administration, the Minister will get the approval of the Bonny Deep seaport”. The NPA also has the assignment of rehabilitating seaports with bad infrastructure. The rehabilitation will involve virtually all the seaports where facilities have been discovered to be decaying after decades of use. The Lagos, Rivers and Calabar ports will benefit from the rehabilitation. On assuming office, the Minister of Transport had gone round the ports in Lagos, Rivers, among others to see areas where rehabilitation is required. He had during the tour assured that the federal government will address issues of infrastructural decay affecting trade facilitation at Onne Seaport, among others. In the case of Onne port, he said, “Part of the reasons why I am here is to see why the ports here are not being patronized. It is an issue that has been on the table for a long time. Whatever the challenges here, we are going to address them squarely. Part of the visit is to hold a meeting with stakeholders to find out from them directly what the burning issues are, then we can draw up short term medium term goals”. Ports Concession Agreement…
One pertinent issue in the ports is the review of the concession agreement that has expired. It has been in the front burner for some years now. The review started during the time of Hadiza Bala Usman as the MD of NPA. The outcome remained unclear until Bello Koko took over from her. The Minister of Transport had directed that the exercise be completed as soon as possible. Koko was reported to have carried out this assignment which is now on the table of the Minister who is expected to give his approval to the next level.
Fidet-Okhiria1, md, nrc
NRC/Rail: Confronting Insecurity, Funding Challenges The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) is crucial in government’s plans to improve on transportation either in movement of people or goods. It is even needed now in modern transport for movement of goods. Therefore, the NRC is saddled with the statutory responsibility of proving rail links throughout the country and all connected to the ports, whether seaport or inland dry ports. Yet, the biggest challenge for the government is the capability to provide the needed services in view of funding constraints. Nigeria had relied on external borrowings to be able to execute some of the rail projects in the country. Government still needs more money to able to complete the project and reach states, particularly the South East where it would appear were not well covered. The Minister of Transport had described the rail as playing very important roles in the lives of Nigerians. He said, “The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has a very rich history and a lot of us who are our age know the impact the railway corporation has had on so many families in this country. “Some people speak Igbo because their parents worked in the Railway corporation, some people speak Hausa because their parents worked in the Northern part of the country at a point or the other in their lives all because of their employment with the NRC, indeed this corporation has done well in unifying the country. “It is so unfortunate that this bedrock of social-economic development was allowed to die, to be laid comatose. At a time when we discovered oil and at a time when we even said at one time that we didn’t even know what to do with money”. At the recent 20th Convocation Ceremony of Igbinedion University, Okada, the federal government had assured Nigerians that the rail modernization programme would connect every state capital in the country
Sambo who represented Vice President Yemi Osibanjo said, “Our Railway Modernization Programme will connect every state capital in Nigeria, it already provides a connection to Benin City from the Coastal Railway project spanning Lagos to Calabar”, Security issues The biggest challenge in rail services remains insecurity. Ever since the Kaduna-Abuja rail attack in which many Nigerians were abducted by kidnappers, rail service is being viewed as a major threat to people’s safety. But Sambo has assured that enough security has been provided for the sake of passengers. For instance, all intending passengers will have to provide means of identification. He said, “If you are a foreigner, you also have a means of identification you can use which is produced by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). Having secured your tickets, you will not gain access to the lounge until the barcode machine reads the barcode on your receipt. “Your image, name, necessary details and your complete profile will show on the screen. Only then will the bar be automatically lifted for you to go into the lounge. “This is unprecedented. This is what we call Customer profiling. Ask any security expert in the world and they will tell you that when you’re dealing with passengers, the first thing in terms of security readiness is the profiling of your passengers. “You need to know who is coming on board. That is a visible change. Another visible change people may notice will be an increase in numbers of security personnel and I’ll tell you without mincing words, some of these security personnel may not even be wearing uniforms to guarantee the safety of the travelling public.
“There are other sensitive equipment that we have deployed, which I will not reveal. The other thing I can tell you is that on every journey, the train is monitored every second on a screen and the train driver can see up to a certain distance if there’s any threat on the track.
“That will enable him apply the brakes long before getting to the perceived threat. I think that gives you comfort and that is why I’m talking to you very confidently,” he said.
NSC CEO
NSC: When Poor Financing Confronts Ports Economic Regulator? As the ports economic regulator, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) remains an umpire of the ports system. Its major task is ensuring fairness in charges by shipping service providers. This is not an easy task considering the operating environment. But expectations are high that the regulator brings its force to bear on this and also ensures good equipment profile that will improve on efficiency in cargo handling operations. The biggest problem in the nation’s ports is the overwhelming influence of service providers on the government apparatus in which case they are able to influence decisions and actions against them by agencies of government. This explains the illegal charges that have over the years lingered in the ports with all the efforts to check the service providers. The NSC is most times hindered by lack of strong provisions of the law to tackle these service providers. Industry stakeholders believe that what is needed is more powers for the port economic regulator to penalize service providers that err. Perhaps it was in realizing this that the Council is calling for a review of its enabling Act by the National Assembly (NASS). Executive Secretary of the NSC, Hon. Emmanuel Jime while recently pointing out these constraints against his agency also identified of inadequate funding to carry out statutory obligations. With new role under the Port Standing Task Team (PSTT) to check corruption and ensure efficiency, the NSC according to Jime does not have enough funding capacity to carry out some of these critical statutory obligations. This cannot be far from the truth as the National Port Process Manual carries with it a lot of logistics to implement. Jime said the two percent being received from the seven per cent Port Development Levy was not enough. To industry stakeholders, the complaint by the NSC in terms of poor funding and lack of adequate power of enforcement is true and should be addressed by the National Assembly. This should also receive the political will of the Transport Minister. The NSC currently has a case at hand on shipping charges. Both NSC and shipping service providers have remained in court for over seven years. The case has progressively been in favour of the Council in both the High Court and Appeal Court. The matter is currently in the Supreme Court. But there are underground moves to settle out of court. This is being handled by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. The judgment in the High Court was that the service providers should pay hundreds of billions of Naira to the shippers. It was gathered that what is being negotiated is how much each of the service providers should pay out of what the Court had ordered in its judgement. There is equally the National Transport Commission Bill which was initially denied assent by President Muhammadu Buhari. Expectations are that Sambo pursues this matter to a logical conclusion before the end of this administration for the Bill to be passed and given assent before Buhari leaves office. The NTC is coming with a lot of benefits that will lead to transformation in the transport sector. If given assent by this administration, it will also be a credit to Sambo as part of his achievements.
REGISTRAR
CRFFN: Revitalizing Statutory Roles with POF The only way for the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to be effective in its statutory obligations is to have funding to execute its projects. The enforcement or success of Port Operating Fees payment will be a good credit to the Minister and management of the Council. It will help expand the horizon of the CRFFN in terms of human capacity development for freight forwarders as well as personnel. Stakeholders strongly argue that it is important for the CRFFN to pursue regular training for members. Many believe that freight forwarding practice in Nigeria needs a lot of improvement for the sake of professionalism in all facets. Already the collection of POF is succeeding with the intervention of the Minister, but there is need to sustain the effort. One other task for the CRFFN is to work towards organizing the customs agents to embrace professionalism as is the case in other climes. The other task is the acquisition of a befitting office for the CRFFN before the end of this administration. Already, the Minister has promised to look into the issues surrounding the office accommodation found in Lekki which the Board members rejected. The Minister will also have a role to play in reconciling the management of CRFFN and members of the Governing Board of CRFFN. The two are said to be daggers-drawn against each other on issues of common interest, a development that has impacted negatively to the progress of the regulatory agency.
MAN: Expanding Frontiers of Human Capacity Devt The Maritime Academy of Nigeria MAN, Oron, is improving by the day. A lot of development programmes have been initiated to reposition the institution as a force to be reckoned with not just in Nigeria but also outside the shores of this country. Recently, the Nigerian High Commissioner to Jamaica, Dr. Mrs. Maureen Tamuno, was full of commendation for the institution which is located in Oron, Akwa Ibom state. Tamuno was thrilled by the quality of educational facilities in the institution. The special maritime institution is headed by the Rector, Commodore Duja Emmanuel Effedua (Rtd). Tamuno told the Rector recently, “I have followed up your activities in the Maritime Academy of Nigeria and I must say it is quite commendable.” Similarly, the Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, had during a working visit to MAN described the environment for learning as among the best in the country. He had commended the Rector for advancing the course of the institution, placing it to compete with other similar institutions of learning. Adegoroye during a visit said, “I am impressed with the management of this academy; the transformation is tremendous and most importantly the learning environment is one of the most conducive in the country”. Observers hold the view that the specialized maritime institution should continue to enjoy the necessary funding it requires for the purpose of advancing human capacity development as this will prepare cadets to compete with others overseas.
NIWA: Decongesting Ports and Roads Corridor
The Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has a lot of roles lined up in the quest to achieve ports efficiency by the federal government. Observers are of the view that NIWA is very much needed in the project of decongesting the Lagos seaports. This is by organising the barge operators to deploy their equipment in moving goods out of the seaports to different destinations other than by road and rail. NIWA has already hit the road running on this. The agency has been in the forefront of creating awareness for importers who have goods destined for the South East to use barges. Recently, the agency facilitated the movement of goods to Onitsha River port. This was when the West African Ceramic Limited, a leading manufacturer of tiles in Nigeria under the brand name ‘Royal’ in Ajaokuta, Kogi state successfully moved tiles worth 22 trailers to Onitsha River Port, Anambra state. The company used its barge M.V Vega to move the goods., NIWA’s tugboat with escort from Inland Waterways Police to ensure security for the goods. The Managing Director of NIWA, Dr. George Moghalu, has demanded that the barge operators provide insurance cover for goods being moved by barges. Moghalu said this was to ensure that investments of importers are protected. He told newsmen that discussions have been held with the barge operators for a suitable insurance cover for all goods on board barges. Moghalu described movement of goods by barges as a prime project in order to decongest the nation’s ports and also reduce pressure on the roads. According to him, the roads were not designed to carry as much as they do currently, adding, “if so, there is no way our infrastructure will last”. “So whatever we can do to reduce such pressure, we do it… in civilized societies, bulk cargoes go on waterways”, he said. The NIWA MD said that having concessioned Onitsha port, others will follow with time, adding that government will use the same template used in Onitsha concession as a guide to Baro, Lokoja, Oguta and any other river port. Expectations are that the Transport Minister keys into this project as crucial in the quest to decongest the ports. NIWA however appears to be confronted by conflicts it has with some states on management of the waterways. Lagos and Rivers State are the states. But recently, a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State ruled that management and control of inland waterways in Nigeria remain exclusive for NIWA. In a statement by the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, NIWA, Jubril Dardau, the judge gave the order in the Suit No: FHC/PH/CS/142/2022 between Bright Waters Energy Limited (plaintiff) and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, River State, the Hon. Commissioner of Environment, Rivers State and Petroleum Financial Corporate (PFC) as (defendants),” It would be recalled that the Lagos state House of Assembly had repealed the NIWA Act and replaced it with the Lagos State Waterways Authority Act, in what has resulted to a legal tussle. The case is still in the Supreme Court. To make the conflict more real was the arrest of a passenger boat carrying 32 passengers at Bariga Jetty by Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) an incident that was a big challenge for NIWA. LASWA General Manager, Mr. Damilola Emmanuel, had in a statement said, “the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) will continue to fish out operators who go against the safety guidelines put in place by the authority to secure lives and property on the waterways. “We also implore all passengers to NEVER board a boat without wearing a good life jacket properly, even if you think you are a good swimmer. A good life jacket ensures that you stay safe in case of a boat mishap on the waterways. Your lives are important to us, please follow all safety guidelines when traveling on water.” For stakeholders, the Transport Minister, Sambo needs to intervene by reaching out to the Lagos State Government to resolve the issue amicably. It would be recalled that the conflict has been there since 2007.
Agenda: Identifying Priority Areas for Sambo Within the Short Period As pointed out earlier, industry stakeholders and analysts believe that the Transport Minister has very short time to accomplish so much as would be desired by many. But the stakeholders are of the view that he should focus on key industry issues that will lead to the development of the sector. Among the areas which need urgent attention and would gladden the hearts of many is to get the federal government to disburse the CVFF before the end of this administration. Already, Sambo announced recently that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the disbursement of the fund. This will add a lot of value to the sector as it is capable of improving on the fleet expansion of indigenous shipping companies. Sambo is also expected to use his good offices to ensure that the President gives his assent to the NTC bill as capable of transforming the entire transport sector. Although, Sambo may have left office by the time Nigeria will be going for the IMO category C election, but he can prepare the groundwork to enable Nigeria record victory. The visit of the IMO scribe recently has opened a lot of chances for Nigeria. The visit was an opportunity for Nigeria to showcase her maritime facilities and capabilities. The review of the port concession agreement also needs to be accomplished before the end of this administration. According to the President, National Council of Managing Directors of Customs Agents (NCMDCA), Mr Lucky Amiwero, the Minister should set up a committee of experts that will be involved in the review of the port concession agreement in the country. To Amiwero, it was better for experts who have deep knowledge of how port concession is carried out in other climes, including neighbouring West African countries to be involved. Amiwero argued that those involved in the port concession were too powerful that government officials alone cannot handle. Indeed, Sambo had directed the NPA to review the port Concession Agreement within 45 days as far back as August during a tour of ports. In October, Bello Koko told the Minister during a familiarization tour of the agency that the concession agreement with five terminal operators that had expired had been concluded. Koko Bello had given an indication of submitting the agreement to the Transportation Minister for approval. He had given an indication that discussion with some of the terminal operators was inconclusive as some of them failed to give necessary feedback to the landlord. This gives credence to the position of Amiwero. Sambo is expected to resolve this before he leaves office. Similarly, the Minister also needs to see that the out of court settlement between the NSC and shipping service providers who are in court over illegal charges is achieved. This will be for the benefit of the country and Nigerian shippers. There are other teething demands that will improve on trade facilitation which Sambo needs to address but for the short stay in office. It is therefore left for him to demand that the agencies directly involved should take up this national assignment for the next administration to accomplish. Ends.
