…Hails take off of Regional Maritime Development Bank
A former Acting National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto has praised the bold initiatives taken so far by the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reposition the Nigerian economy under his administration in the last two years.
Farinto who took time to review the actions and policies of the President in the last two years while speaking with journalists in his office in Lagos recently, said that he was initially opposed to the President’s policies are the inception of his administration but had to change his mind when he realized that the President was on a mission to salvage what was left of the economy after the bad experiences of the last administration.
His words, “I am one of the people that misunderstood him because when he started rolling out his policies, it became very difficult and we were wondering what was happening. But after a while, I am bold to say that by the end of his tenure, Nigerians will appreciate what he’s doing because he is building institutions.”
Farinto who admitted that there was poverty, difficulties and hunger in the land currently, however, opined that Nigerians were before now living in borrowed robes citing the inability of the importers and those who add value to the economy to get foreign exchange to boost the economy only for those who engaged in frivolities to have unfettered access to foreign exchange as an example.
According to him, “Let me take Buhari’s tenure as an example, most of the time, they will give Dollar to the people going to Saudi – Arabia and Jerusalem but the importers and the people adding value to the economy will not have access to the Dollar.
“But when he (Tinubu) came, he dismantled it and repositioned the foreign exchange market such that the market forces now determine who gets the Dollar and there is no preferential treatment to whoever is going to Saudi Arabia or Jerusalem and that has stabilized the economy.”
Noting that people would always have their opinion, he stated, “But so far, so good, he has been implementing a lot of policies that will give us a robust economy in the maritime industry but it now depends on the heads of various agencies, how well they are reading his body language.
“I say this because when he rolls out a policy, let us take the issue of rice as an instance. When Nigerians were facing difficulty in getting rice, the President gave a directive to allow importation of rice, by the time the various agencies set about implementing this directive, they set a bobby trap for the people to the extent that how many containers of rice were eventually imported.
“They started placing some conditions that are too difficult for people to meet, like those who have milling machines and so on. And this was not the intent and directive of Mr. President. The directive of Mr. President is for the people to be allowed to bring in rice, flood the market with rice and by the time that is done, it will crash the price of rice in the market. But unfortunately, bureaucracy set in, the people who are actually making money from the system used their influence to make sure that the President’s directive did not see the light of the day.
“So, the man has been living up to expectations and by the time he is clocking two years, we should look back and review his policies. However, if I were to be him, I would change all the Ministers.”
Farinto who is also the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Wealthy Honey Investment Limited further applauded President Tinubu for the take off of the Regional Maritime Development Bank with the appointment of Adeniran Aderogba as the first President and Chief Executive Officer of the bank after 15 years.
He observed that the bank which now has a take off grant of Five Hundred Million Dollars would serve as a dedicated financial institution offering long-term funding solutions for critical maritime needs including port infrastructure development, fleet acquisition, shipping logistics among others.
“Everybody playing in the maritime sector can now have access to funds. That could be another Cabotage fund in disguise”, he said.
On insinuations in some quarters that the Maritime Organizations of West and Central Africa Region, MOWCA would influence the operations of the bank, he said, “Our problem is that when there is a change or a new policy, we will start condemning it when it is yet to take off. Let us allow the bank to take off first, let’s see whether MOWCA or Nigeria will influence it.
“By the time the bank stabilizes, and maybe after a 90 day period, we can now assess it and then, tell the man that is there that he is not adding value to the industry and that this is not the intention of Mr. President. I am one of those that believe that this is a very lofty idea, for Mr. President to have deem it fit to approve it, I give him kudos for that because it is going to solve a lot of problems in the industry.”
Photo: Dr. Kayode Farinto, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Wealthy Honey Investment Limited.
Send your press invite, news, press releases/articles to augustinenwadinamuo@yahoo.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @PrimetimeRepor1 and on Facebook on facebook.com/primetimereporters or call the editor on 07030661526.
