The National President, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Tony Iju Nwabunike, has said that the nation’s maritime sector is losing an estimated 30,000 job opportunities due to issues of insecurity on Nigerian waters.
Nwabunike who stated this while delivering a paper on the topic: “Blue economy: Pathway for Nigeria’s economic diversification,” at the 8th Nigeria Annual Transport lecture in Lagos, said that the nation’s dwindling revenue can be addressed if the waters are safe for legitimate businesses and properly linked to the oil sector.
According to him, over 30,000 untapped opportunities are readily available in various sectors if the nation can keep its waters safe from maritime piracy, sea robbery, oil theft, kidnapping and other maritime related crimes.
The ANCLA boss recalled that the National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recently declared that it would deduct N112 billion from oil and gas proceeds for April to ensure continuous supply of petroleum products to the country to guarantee energy security.
This according to him, is an indication that oil money alone cannot satisfy the nation’s quest for funds as it would affect all tiers of government with respect to payment of salaries, pensions and other mandatory obligations of government.
He added: “Areas such as Import, Export, Fishing, Tourism, Transport, Chandling, Dredging and others abound with potential to give governments at all tiers more taxes and provide sustainable earnings that could exceed what we have in the oil sector presently.”
He said that relying on oil revenue alone for sustainability would only lead into accumulation of debts and seeking for debt relief when the nation is not capable of paying back.