FG should invest in development of maritime sector in 2017- operator

The Federal Government has been urged to be committed to the development of the nation’s maritime sector, described as second revenue earner after oil.

Speaking at the Ships & Ports annual essay competition award presentation in Lagos week,tagged, “Non-Oil Exports as Panacea for Economic Recession,”   Bola ji Akinola, chief executive officer of Ships & Ports Communication Limited  that years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo left office, no other government had paid attention to the issue hindering the growth of the sector.

 “The Federal Government neither understands nor appreciates the potentials of the maritime industry. It is our hope that the present governments will fast track the development of the sector for the nation’s economic well being especially in this New Year,” he added.

Akinola also noted that the current minister of transport has no development agenda other than to set revenue target for regulatory agencies, which now relegate their core mandate of regulation to the background for money making. “The Customs too has abandoned trade facilitation and had concentrated in only generating revenue for government.”

“Government is also killing the sector with bad policies. The national automotive policy and the policy on rice importation are some of the bad policies this government inherited from the past administration headed by former President GoodLuck Jonathan and we expect this government to review them but, it has not. The damages these policies are doing to our country are great,” he said.

Continuing, he noted that “Former President Jonathan slammed 70 percent tariff on imported vehicles and because of that importers diverted their vehicles to Cotonou Port, which allows for 10 percent duty, and most of the vehicles were afterwards, smuggled into Nigerian market. The Federal Government has continued to make unfavourable policies that not only favour neighbouring countries but also create jobs for dockworkers in the Republic of Benin, who discharges the ships.”

Akinola further advised the Federal Government to reduce the import duty on vehicle by bringing the duty back to the 10 percent it was before the current auto policy took effect, in line with the campaign promise of Osinbajo, the vice president during their presidential campaigns in Lagos.

He however pointed to the need to depoliticise appointment of heads of government agencies in the maritime industry.

AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE