…To commence work after elections
The Former Governor of Anambra State, Chief Peter Obi has said that President Goodluck Jonathan has set up a committee to overhaul the nation’s seaports with a view to finding out why the ports were not functioning effectively despite huge investment by the federal government in the sector in the recent years.
Obi who made this disclosure while speaking in an interactive session with the freight forwarders and other maritime stakeholders in Lagos on Thursday stated that the Committee was made up of 6 serving Ministers, all the key players in the maritime industry, the Comptroller-General of Customs as well as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
He advised the maritime practitioners to consider where their interests would be more protected in the coming election before casting their votes adding that President Jonathan has done a lot in the sector and in the entire country to deserve re-election.
Chief Obi who is also the Deputy Director-General, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organization stated that no President has made the kind of investment that the Jonathan’s government had made in the maritime sector reminding them that they stand to benefit more from Jonathan led government than from any other contestant.
According to him”, last November, the President, worried about what is happening in our ports, decided to set up a committee to really look into the ports, look into why the ports are not functional, that is why the ports are not working the way even when he had done a lot in the ports because I will tell you people what he has done in the ports. Let’s look at why it is not as efficient as it should be and that was the first thing”.
“The second one is how do we ensure that the Eastern port is fully functional and more effective. What do we do and everything and he formed what I considered a very powerful committee of which the members of the committee are the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Minister of Transport which is in-charge of the ports, Minister of Petroleum, we have 6 ministers, Comptroller General of Customs is a member, all the major players in the industry including MAN (Manufacturers Association of Nigeria) and everything”.
“This body has not taken off because of elections and everything but I can tell you, when he finished this, he said, “Peter, you are of those who every now and then complain about the ports, you are should be the Chairman of this committee”.
He pledged that as the Chairman of the Committee that every contribution made by the stakeholders on the way forward for the ports would definitely get to the President starting from whatever the outcome of the day’s interactive session would be.
He noted that the committee would have visited the ports sometime last but for the ongoing electioneering campaigns adding that after the general elections, the committee would begin work in earnest.
“But the critical component of that committee is to revive and shore up what it will take for the eastern ports to work. I can tell you that I have an idea of what is happening in the ports. That is all I can say, I have an idea and some of it Chief Aniebonam had mentioned”, he said.
He reminded them of the need to ask critical questions before deciding who to support in the March 28, 2015 Presidential election saying that Lagos ports have been congested therefore the need for expansion.
Chief Obi who interspersed his speech with Igbo language added,” what we needed now is the expansion in other areas and if they are expanding, they should expand the ones in our region. If he finishes with the one in Port-Harcourt and if he finishes with the one in Akwa-Ibom, let him build the one in his home town, it is closer to us. Let me tell you how I see these things, if it will not be in my home, let it be in my neighbour’s home. So, there are lots of benefits we will gain if we vote in Jonathan”.
“The Maritime family, think about who will change your business, who will rebuild your business, who will make it more conducive, who will remove the foreigners in the ports, it is only in Nigeria that you have a port that is dominated by foreigners, you cannot see it elsewhere. Who are we going to work with to chase them away? I don’t mean chasing them away from the ports entirely but let there be a level playing field”.
Earlier, a chief convener of the meeting and founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Chief Boniface Aniebonam had earlier charged the freight forwarders to warm up to the representative of Mr. President in their midst, stressing that the meeting was not merely to adopt President Jonathan, but also to intimate the President of the myriads of industry challenges, requiring urgent attention.
“We are here, because our industry, the freight forwarding industry needs urgent attention. … If you have access to the sea, then you have access to the riches of the world”, he stated, adding that the nation’s access to the sea was however, presently not being optimized.
Aniebonam highlighted the need to adequately implement the letters of the Cabotage law as well as the Local Content Act, explaining that these were capacity development platforms whose visions were still being largely underutilized.
Speaking in the same vein, a Chieftain of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Tony Nwabunike also called attention to some industry challenges, particularly the chronic traffic situation, stressing that he managed to get to the venue of the meeting all because he engaged the service of a commercial motor cycle, popularly called “Okada”.
