The Nigerian Fleet Implementation Committee has submitted an interim report to the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, on the need to establish a strong and sustainable national fleet.
Receiving the report at the Ministry in Abuja, the Minister stated that it is one he is particularly interested in because “Nigeria is a maritime country, and if Nigeria gets its acts together, the country will have no business looking for money from the oil sector as contribution to the country’s GDP.”
Emmanuel Jime, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and Chairman of the Nigerian Fleet Implementation Committee (NFIC), stated that the Committee was formed by the recently retired Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, to carry out the recommendations of a previous Ministerial Committee on Modalities for the Establishment of a Nigerian Fleet.
Jime who was represented by Managing Director, Sea Transport Group and member, NFIC, Umar Aminu, stated that the initiative was a way of responding to the non participation of Nigerians in the carriage of Nigeria’s international cargo as well as the loss of freight revenue, jobs and other benefits which would otherwise have accrued to the country.
He also said: “In the course of carrying out the mandate, lessons have been learnt and some modest achievements have been recorded. These have been captured in this interim report which we are submitting today. The work is still ongoing and the goal of creating an enabling environment for the growth of sustainable Nigerian fleet will be achieved in due course.”
Jime noted that “There were challenges that impeded the quick realisation of the project as earlier envisaged. Shipping is international and competitive in nature and Nigeria cannot operate in isolation, hence the need for the operating environment to be similar to what obtains elsewhere. This has been a major challenge to the growth of the sector in Nigeria. Review of certain trade policies, access to funds and technical/human capacity are issues that need to be resolved.”
