The Shippers’ Association of Lagos State has again called for the separation of the maritime sector from the Ministry of Transport as well as the establishment of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to cater for the need of the industry just like the Aviation and Petroleum industries.
The President of the association, Rev. Dr. Jonathan Nicol made this call in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
Nicol contended that if smaller countries like the Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana should have such ministry, there was no reason why a big country like Nigeria handling over four Million containers in a year could not have such a Ministry.
He maintained that the maritime industry as far as cargo was concerned was huge and that it needed a supervising Ministry that would concentrate on the activities and the progress of the sector adding that the sector was where the major money came from.
“So, we need a separate Ministry not just the National Transport Commission. National Transport Commission is all embracing that you have railways, you have the Aviation, you have so many other auxiliary services that is merged into the National Transport Commission but we have the maritime sector that has been neglected all these years. So, we need a ministry, it makes sense”, he said.
