Why maritime security needs to be addressed-Expert
By Temitope Adebayo
A lecturer with the Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology in Lagos, Captain Fola Ojutalayo, said maritime security needs to be urgently addressed.
Ojutalayi said based on the sector’s potential, it has come under siege by criminal elements who orchestrate acts of piracy, sea robbery, arms proliferation, crude oil theft, terrorism, migration, illegal and unregulated fishing and oil theft within the country’s territorial waters that must be looked into.
Ojutalayo said other areas that must be addressed include, total port reform, new economic agenda for the sector as well as an overhaul, especially with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Others are workable direct foreign investment policy, cabotage regime, green field development, free trade zone restrictions, and tariff.
Ojutalayo said attention should also be given to coastal states, adding that the country needs to utilise its resources such as the 900 nautical miles of coastline, 572 inland waterways, and 10,000km of navigable waterways among others, to generate more revenue to revitalise the economy.
“Statistics show a total freight cost estimate of between $5 billion and $6 billion yearly, while the maritime component of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is worth an estimated $8 billion alongside seaborne transportation, oceanic extractive resource exploitation, and export processing zones.
“There is no other time than now for the incoming administration to protect the country’s over $14 billion maritime trade. I must say that a safe, secure, and efficient shipping industry would assist in revitalising and diversifying the economy away from crude oil exploration to a vibrant maritime trade,” he said.
The Acting President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr. Kayode Farinto, called for the creation of the Federal Ministry of Maritime Affairs to harness the full potential of the industry.
He explained that the creation of the ministry will enable the country to fully explore its blue economy project and increase revenue earnings for the Federal Government, create employment for youths and add value to the nation’s economy.
Farinto also called for the reduction of 15 per cent levy on used vehicles and an increase in the age limit of imported used vehicles to 15 years from the date of manufacturing.
He urged the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, to appoint Special Advisers on Maritime and Customs Affairs, as this will help his government have professional and technical advice that will grow the industry and generate more revenue for the country.
The Secretary of ANLCA West Zone, Nnamdi Ibekwe, said high duty on imported goods is crippling, trade as the effect is being felt in the decline of import and manufacturing.
According to him, imports are no longer coming into the country due to the unstable and varying customs duty at the different commands.
“The Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) is N3 million for a 20ft container and N5 million for a 40ft container at Tin Can. Initially, it was N1 million for 40 containers. Customs arm twist importers and their agents and as a result of this, many importers have diverted their containers to ports in neighboring countries and this is affecting business a lot,” he said.
Former President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Increase Uche, said there is a pressing need to ease cargo clearing processes and vessel turnaround time at the ports to ensure ease of doing business.
According to him, having a shorter vessel turnaround time can be achieved by reducing delays, curtailing bureaucracy, and curbing extortions in the clearance of vessels.
He also stressed the need to fix the breakdown of Customs servers that have become more frequent and a major bottleneck in cargo clearance at the ports in Lagos, especially the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) valuation policy on imported vehicles.
Uche further stressed the need for better engagement of stakeholders in the implementation of the vehicle identification number system.
Also, a freight forwarder, Nnadi Ugochukwu, urged the government to engage more providers of Information Technology (IT) infrastructure for seamless trade.
He said having only one provider has caused more loss to the country, importers, and agents owing to the constant network fluctuation and server breakdown that has led to billions of naira lost to undue delays and demurrage payment.
A Customs broker, Basil Agbara, called for the implementation of friendly trade policies to streamline the multiple agencies cluttered in the ports that hinder trade facilitation.
Agbara also called for the speedy implementation of a single window system to minimise human interface at the ports.
He said there should be the deployment of technology at all stages of approvals and documentation.
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The Administration Secretary of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners of Nigeria (AMATO), Mohammed Sani, called for urgent action on the artificial extortion barrier that has taken a serious toll on the ability of the maritime haulage and logistics sector to deliver efficiently and profitably.
“There are over 60 checkpoints of extortion from Ijora Olopa, Costain, Mile 2 down to Tin Can and Apapa ports, where uniformed and ununiformed men collect unofficial and unreceipted monies from truckers”, he said.
