By Innocent Orok
The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Executive Secretary/ CEO, Barr. Pius Akutah has said that the Council will develop a five -years action plan that will attract $10m investment into Nigeria. He also disclosed that two departments of the Council had saved the bleeding Nigerian economy from further economic losses to the tune of N46billion in the last one year.
Akutah revealed this while briefing the media and stakeholders on Sunday in Lagos of his one year performance in office so far.
He hinted that the Port Economic Regulator bill of the NSC has been passed by the House of Representatives and now at the Senate for passage. He said Nigeria must position itself to explore the African economy through the African Continental Free Trade Area ( AfCFTA) through shipping services.
Akutah hinted that in the last one year stakeholders engagement also recorded significant gains as the agency intervene in a trade dispute with a Kano operator that saved his investment of $70,000.
While singling out the Regulatory Department and Complaints Unit for saving investors N40billion and N6billion respectively, Akutah observed that the activities of the Council under his leadership helped in improving the quality of trade and perception of the agency and industry by stakeholders.
He said when the NSC bill is passed and got Presidential assent , it will enhance the Council’s efficiency, speedily transform the nation’s ports and avail the Council requisite legal backing to address modern issues.
His words: “As the port economic regulator, one of our major concerns is that industry investments must yield profits and for that to happen, there has to be appropriate infrastructure. The infrastructure must be better to help the nation emerge as a shipping and logistics hub”.
He maintained that the emergence of AfCFTA and its huge market means that the country must improve its shipping services in practice and infrastructure.
Noting the dilapidated state of port infrastructure, the NSC boss encouraged Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to expedite its efforts on repairs in a bid to give the nation’s seaports a competitive advantage.
“Maritime logistics remains a major challenge with AfCFTA. How will Nigerian goods reach the rest of Africa if these connectivity issues aren’t addressed? We have goods that have been manufactured in Nigeria and done all required to qualify for AfCFTA trade. How do we export if the problems in the shipping sector remains?
“Today, goods heading to some parts of Africa from Nigeria would first have to go to Europe before coming back to the African nations. This takes a long time and adds to the cost.”
The NSC boss said he is focusing on the future, “the Council has operated a program for the medium term of three years which just ended and now will have a 5- years plan which will attract $10m investment into the country.”
He assured that the target of the Council in the next five years is to bring back volume of trade to Apapa and Onne ports.
On Inland Dry Ports, he assured that the Council will engage with states to facilitate the completions of the IDPs.
The event was graced by maritime industry stakeholders, including; the Chairman of Shipping Companies Association, Boma Alabi SAN; President-General of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) Comrade Adewale Adeyanju and his members, Deputy Managing Director, MSC Shipping, Jacob Iosso; President of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Otunba Frank Ogunojemite; Lagos Chairman of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Adeleye Ajayi, among others.
