A former Presidential Candidate, Professor Pat Utomi has called on the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to put machinery in motion towards bringing the maritime agencies and stakeholders together on monthly basis to brainstorm on the problems militating against the maritime industry in Nigeria with a view to proffering lasting solutions to them.
Pat Utomi who made this call Tuesday while delivering a lecture titled,” Economic Rights and the Ports as Gateway to Growth and Prosperity”, at a one day forum organized by the Nigerian Shippers Council in conjunction with Akabogu and Associates with the theme: Benefits of Regulation at Nigerian Ports, said this could be achieved through a monthly breakfast meeting where these agencies and stakeholders would be brought together to brainstorm with mutual understanding and trust.
He observed that the Council needed to take charge as apex maritime regulator saying that for it to survive in its quest to act as an ombudsman in port operations, the Council needed to be fearless and discharge its function without necessarily bullying or seen to bully anyone.
According to him, a monthly breakfast meeting by key players in the maritime industry would help significantly in solving problem of the maritime sector adding that it would lead to problem solving for the numerous challenges faced by the industry.
He also stressed the need for the council to advice the terminal operators on how the nation’s ports can be competitive saying that it would lead to massive job employment.
Prof. Utomi maintained that the maritime industry needed to learn a lesson through the Singaporean and Malaysian competitiveness saying that competitiveness within the players in the Nigeria maritime industry will further boost the economy of the nation.
He charged the council to take charge by coordinating the maritime sector for it to achieve the hub status for the West and Central Africa adding that nothing stops Nigeria from serving as a hub for all the goods coming to West Africa, Central Africa even up to South Africa.
Also speaking, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Barrister Hassan Bello reiterated his call on the Federal Government to review the port concession agreement for effective control and performance as an economic port regulator.
Bello noted that all stakeholders in the sector were very important to the Council pointing out that the Council was democratic institution without bias even as he said that the Council had remain fair in all its dealing with the stakeholders since it assumed the position of the ports economic regulator over a year ago.
He stated that the port regulator demand respect from those regulated even though it was appointed after eight years of port concession.
High point of the event was a discussion session led by the Senior Partner, Akabogu and Associates, Mr. Emeka Akabogu with eminent personalities in the Nigerian maritime sector including the National President, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Eugene Nweke among others.
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