WASHINGTON: Maritime stakeholders on Tuesday called for a review of the port reform policy of the Nigerian ports to cater for further improvement. The stakeholders made the call at a one-day workshop organized by the Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria in Lagos. The stakeholders said that a review of the concession statutes would remove the grey areas. Hassan Bello, the Chairman of the occasion and the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, said as a body, the council was working to improve on the port concession programme.
Hassan said: “As industry regulators we are working round the clock to ensure a level playing ground for all. “We are aware that the reform policy after 10 years can be said to have improved our ports but a lot still needs to be improved upon for us to measure up with international standard.” Dr Boniface Aniebonam, Founder National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, said that shippers’ interest should be protected so that shippers would not be ripped off. He commended advancement made in the area of port infrastructure. Aniebonam said: “We like the reform and its attendant improvement in ports facility management.
“Going by what the ports used to be before the concession; one will say that there has been advancement in infrastructure development across the ports. “In the area of costs, the burden of such facility advancement seems to be carried by shippers; in other words, Nigerians who are the end users of the services provided by the shippers and their representatives.”
Dr. Kayode Farinto, a representative of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agent, said that stakeholders were not informed before the emergence of the concession in 2006. Farinto stated that: “Yes we can say there are some improvements in the running of the ports since the inception of the programme.
“After all, the policy is meant to bring about the needed improvements but if the key stakeholders have been called upon to put forward their views, most of the perceived grey areas now will not have cropped up.” The President, Shippers’ Association Lagos State, Jonathan Nicol, said the change of rules midway into the concession was a disadvantage to shippers. He said that for a nation to retain the confidence of the investing community there is the need for consistency in policies. Nicol said that port charges should be bearable enough to prevent shippers from routing their cargoes to other ports neighboring countries. He said that there should be a review of the port concession policy in order to have a friendlier maritime environment. Nicol thanked the media for being the watch dog of the industry over the years and implored the media to champion the course of the review of port concession.
