A frontline contender for the Orumba North/South Federal Constituency of Anambra State in the 2019 general election, Captain Casmir Nwafor (rtd.) has been honoured with Excellent Leadership Award by the management of the Primetime Reporters online newspapers.
The event which took place in Lagos last week saw the retired Army Captain receive the award alongside 13 other eminent Nigerians at a well-attended programme held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island in Lagos.
The event which was the 2nd Annual Lecture and Awards of the media organization had as its theme,” The Gains and Challenges of the Presidential Order on Ease of Doing Business in the Nigerian Maritime Sector One Year After” had the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo represented by Mr. Jude Oboh of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) among other dignitaries.
Sharing his thoughts on the theme of the lecture, Captain Nwafor who is also a legal practitioner extolled the organizers of the lecture for bringing together opinion makers in the country to brainstorm on the theme adding that the organization, by so doing had contributed in nation building in no small measure.
He noted that the ease of doing business in Nigeria hasn’t improved much since the inauguration a year ago by the Vice President saying that the development was as a result of many factors which according to him had remained unchanged even a year after the inauguration of the Committee to supervise the order.
According to him,” One of these militating factors is the bad access to our Lagos Seaport. It is so sad that the Apapa port gridlock has not only remained unsolved but has worsened since the inception of the current FG. The Government has failed to develop the will power to deal with the menace of Tanker and Truck drivers and owners who have converted major roads leading to the Port to their parking lots.
“The ongoing road work at the port access road is also very slow and without effective date of completion. It is also very awkward that in a country of over 200 million with a vast majority of importers and exporters that it is only one seaport that is operational. What happened to Calabar, Porthacourt and Warri ports as well the work at Onitsha River Port? Every day we hear of increased foreign reserve. Why can’t the Government use part of this money to ensure the operation of the Calabar, Porthacourt and Warri seaports, or is there a conspiracy to ensure that there are no operational ports in the South-South and South-East regions. Money should be spent to improve.
“Secondly is the issue of examination of cargo at the exit gate after it has been examined at the seaports. This is not necessary as the cargoes have undergone inspection inside the Port before they were cleared. Why the examination at the exit gate which further adds to the delay of cargoes leaving the Port and the traffic jams outside the Port.
“Thirdly is the issue of physical examination of containers at the port. Technology has made things simple and in most parts of the world, physical examination is no longer obtained. The Government should introduce electronic gadgets to do the screenings and make the procedure faster thereby improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
“Another issue of major concern is the harassment of containers by the Nigeria Police in the Port before they exit. The Police has no business with clearing of containers at the Port and should be removed from the Ports. One even wonders what and who brought the Police to the Port.
“The Nigeria Customs has armed men as well as a Provost department and therefore there is no need for the Nigeria Police in the Port premises. The armed Provost Customs men should take that responsibility and hand over suspects arrested within the ports to Police for investigation and Prosecution. That’s how it is done in the Military barracks where you don’t have the Civil Police operating but suspects are handed over to them by the various Military authorities.
“However, if at all the Civil Police should be accommodated in the Port; it should join in the inspection of containers by all security agencies in the Port. It should not wait and do its own separately when its men don’t even know anything about the documents involved in Cargo shipment and clearing transactions. Other matters like double levies or taxations should also be looked into as well as other encumbrances that obstruct the ease of doing business in Nigeria. This will reduce the physical, mental and financial stress put on importers especially payment of exorbitant amount as penalty for delay in clearing goods from the ports”.
Earlier in his speech, the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of Primetime Reporters, Mr. Saint Augustine Nwadinamuo said that Captain Nwafor (rtd.) was recognized for his selfless service to Nigeria and humanity exemplified by the sacrifices he made while in the Nigerian Army and for putting his life on the line in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents and enemies of Nigeria.
Nwadinamuo further said that the retired Captain exhibited some strong leadership character going by many leadership roles he played before joining the Army as can be attested to in his helping to form the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) when he became the first House of Assembly Candidate for the party in Orumba North in 2003 as well as the leadership roles he played while in the Military.
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