By Steve Agbota [email protected]
The agencies in the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMoF), have been identified among the forces frustrating the establishment of the proposed national fleet in the maritime industry.
This was even as the report indicated that Nigerian shipping business is currently losing over $5 billion in freight annually to foreign ship owners.
In a recent report by National Fleet Implementation Committee (NFIC), headed by the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council, Emmanuel Jime, submitted to the Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo, which was obtained by our reporter accused government agencies in the Federal Ministry of Finance, including the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), of not adequately supporting the project, stating that securing their buy-in was largely non-existent.
The Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMoT), under the leadership of the former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, set up a committee to design a suitable model on how to establish a national shipping line after the collapse of the Nigeria National Shipping Line (NNSL).
However, the implementation committee further revealed that the agencies, which are major revenue collecting agencies for the Federal Government placed more emphasis on the short-term effect of the national fleet on the economy than the long-term benefits.
The report read: “These MDAs’ basically stand on what Nigeria stands to lose in the short term in terms of revenue generation, than what will accrue to the national economy in the long run in terms of increased indigenous tonnage, growth in ship registry and retention of freight earnings on cargo and contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The report, which was submitted to the Minister by the NFIC members in September this year, revealed that the implementation committeeinclude the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers’ Council as the chairman, Mr Mele Kyari, GMD, NNPC, Mr. Pius Oteh, Director, Legal Services FMOT, Dr. Bashir Y. Jamoh, Director General, NIMASA, Mr. Mohammed Bello-Koko, Managing Director, NPA, Mr. Abubakar A. Bello, Managing Director, NEXIM Bank, Dr. Mkgeorge Onyung, President, Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, Ahmed Tijjani Ramalan, National Seafarers Welfare Board, among others, highlighted that governments of major shipping nations approach the development of the shipping sector as a national policy, which triggers incentive measures from relevant agencies of government such as Ministries of Finance, Commerce and Trade, among others.
Conversely, the committee said that those countries design special incentives for their shipping industries to make them competitive in the global space.
However, they lamented that the critical buy-in of the project by key MDAs in the country is still largely non-existent, as there is currently an over-emphasis by these MDAs on what the country stands to lose in the short run in terms of revenue generation.
The committee lamented that currently, Nigeria’s shipping business is at the mercy of foreign ship owners who earn more than $5 billion in freight annually, which represents an economic loss to the national economy.
The report further said the development of private sector-driven Nigerian fleet is a task that must be achieved for the present as well as future security of the national economy as it presents an opportunity for a paradigm shift in the current dominance by foreign ship-owners of Nigeria’s international trade.