NPA tackles INTELS over non-compliance with TSA policy

…may revoke the concession agreement

By FUNSHO OLOJO
The long standing business relationship between the Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA) and theIntegrated Logistics Services(INTELS) is currently under threat as both parties are at a logger head over the implementation of the Treasury Single Account(TSA) policy of the Federal government.

The management of the authority has queried the continued blatant refusal of the logistics giant to comply with the policy while INTELS has similarly called to question the propriety of the policy which it claimed is capable of hurting its billion dollars investments.

INTELS was co-founded by former Vice-president and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, AtikuAbubakar and an Italian businessman, Gabriel Volpi, in the 1980 and the company has been in a business relationship with the NPA which pre-dated the concessioning programme of 2006.

The logistics company is objecting to the review of the initial agreement with the NPA which allows it to collect revenue on behalf of the agency, deducts its commission before it remits the balance, based on an agreed ratio, to the NPA.

However, HadizaBalaUsman, the Managing Director of the NPA, has objected to this formula, insisting that it negates the spirits and letters of the TSA policy.

On March 15, HadizaBala-Usman wrote to Intels asking it to comply with government’s TSA policy, which demands that service boat revenues collected through commercial banks must immediately be remitted into the relevant account in the Central Bank of Nigeria.

According to a report by Premium Times,Ms.Bala-Usman had proposed a new arrangement for sharing the revenue stream.

The company will receive 28 percent as agency commission from boats service revenues, while the remainder will be shared on a 30:70 percent ratio in favour of government and the company respectively.

However, even though, INTELS agreed with the new sharing formula, but insisted that complying with the TSA policy will hurt its business.

“We still have an issue with the making of payments to a financial institution with complete sweep of funds to the TSA account,” the company said.

The company said it used its books as collateral for the loans and that compliance is only possible if creditor banks continued to collect and hold revenue on its behalf.

“As you will understand, this (total compliance with TSA) will be unacceptable to the banks,” said the company, in its letter signed by Chief Executive of the company, Andrew Dawes, to Ms.Bala-Usman. “The result of this will be a run of our financing. We are sure this is not a result NPA desires.”

The NPA management reportedly insisted that the Logisticscompany must either comply with the policy or be ready to lose the contract.

The NPA said it had even displayed magnanimity by allowing the collection of boats service revenue using two commercial banks even in the face of the TSA policy. It said the arrangement was to allow a window for both parties to track transactions before they are subsequently swept into TSA accounts in the CBN.

Some stakeholders have however faulted the reasons given by INTELS not to comply with the TSA policy which they said was meant to ensure transparency and accountability in the conduct of revenue collection.

They commended the NPA management, especially the Managing Director for her courage to face INTELS and insisted on transparency.

‘’INTELS has over the years held NPA hostage, short changing the agency in the revenue accruable from the agreement and withholding the amount that was even due to the authority.

‘’The company has displayed blatant arrogance and annoying disregard for the law, using the political shield of its co-founder, AlhajiAtiku, who has unwittingly given the company the temerity to treat the NPA agreement with utmost scorn and disrespect’’, an angry operator in the industry who strongly craved for anonymity, declared.

The source further urged Ms UsmanBala not to be intimidated by the political stature of the owner of the company who may rev his massive political machinery to thwart the efforts of the NPA management to collect what rightfully belongs to the agency.

‘’The NPA should wield the big stick and must not spare INTELS in this current move to curtail its excesses. After all, they are not above the law neither are theysuperior under the concession agreement than other concessionaires who have complied with the TSA policy’’, he noted.

INTELS operates terminals in Onne, Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar under the 2006 concession agreement.

Onne is the most important hub for oil and gas industry in Nigeria, accounting for 65 per cent of cargo export through the country’s sea, according to NPA, and hosting operations of all major oil and gas companies within its massive free trade zone.

As a result of its near monopolistic operations in the Zone which other operators have kicked against, INTELS generates billions of dollars from these facilities on yearly basis.

The company also insists that users of its facilities and services should pay in dollars.

No wonder AtikuAbubakar in 2015 presidential campaign declared excitedly that INTELS is his cash cow.

However, with the new found gut of the current NPA management to confront the Eastern monopolistic Emperor which Intels has become over the years, Atiku cow may soon be starved the necessary feeds that will make it malnourished.

NPA threatens to sue Lagos over Wharf Landing Fees

The last may not have been heard of the controversial wharf landing fee as the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) said it has gone to court to seek redress over the collection of the fee by the Lagos State government.

Managing Director of NPA, HadizaBalaUsman, dropped the hint in Lagos last week while addressing complaints from truck owners over collection of charges by truckers to the Lagos State government.

“We are going to, through the Attorney-General, take the Lagos State government to court over the wharf landing fee,” Usman disclosed while meeting with truck owners.

The Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) recently raised alarm over alleged extortion and harassment of truckers by the wharf landing fee collecting authority over mode of collecting the fee, for which it claimed receipts are not issued.

Chairman of AMATO, Chief RemiOgungbemi said his members can no longer face the harassment as it is having negative effects on their business.

“In most cases, if the drivers pay this money, they don’t issue them with receipt and when they ask of receipt, it will become an offence. So we are no longer comfortable paying the money. Sometimes they impound our trucks and slam a bill of N100,000 or N500,000 and those they could not impound they forcefully break into compartment of the vehicle and remove the battery,” he said.

Wharf land fee is the payment made on cargoes that passes through the Lagos ports.

While N500 is paid on a 20 foot container, N1,000 is paid on a forty foot and N300 on every vehicle imported through the ports.

BalaUsman questioned the legality behind the wharf landing collection in Lagos as there was no provision in the NPA Act of 1958 or as amended or is there a National Assembly legislation backing the wharf landing fees.

Also, the wharf landing fees has been utterly criticised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) as they argue that the fee has led to rising cost of doing business in Nigeria, and also directly works against the much desired foreign investment inflow into the country.
A former Senior Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr.LekeOyewole, told journalists that the collection is illegal in the first place.

Oyewole saidformer Jonathanadministration expressed its opposition againstthe collection.
He said he wrote to former Governor BabatundeFashola stating that the maritime businesses and activities were the exclusive right of the federal government, as states were not allowed to participate.

“What happens if other states decide to start collecting Wharf Landing fees, one illegality begets another illegality, and illegality should not be allowed to trive.Fashola made some categorical statements that were illegal,” he said

On the introduction of the wharf landing fees on March 16, 2009 with the successful passage of the bill into law now called, Wharf Landing Fees Law 2009, the state government had emphasised that the fee was necessary to shore up the revenue profile of the host local governments to the ports.

The LASG further argued that the revenue is needed to ameliorate the harmful consequences of trucking activities on the 3028 state and 6415 local government roads in the state.

The Chairman of the Lagos State Government Wharf Landing Fees Collecting Authority, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, said the Managing Director of NPA is ignorant of the law.

Igbokwe added that if any body feels aggrieved by the collection of the fee, such person can go to court to seek redress.

Terminal operators, shipping companies may refund N7tn to shippers

If the courts rules in favour of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in a suit challenging the imposition of arbitrary charges on users of shipping services, up to N7 trillion may be refunded by private terminal operators and shipping companies being accumulated levies collected over the years.

The suit is currently being heard at the Court of Appeal after a Federal High Court had earlier given judgment in favour of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and slammed a N1 trillion fine on the shipping companies and terminal operators.

Speaking during a meeting with customs licensed clearing agents and maritime truck owners in Lagos, Hassan Bello, executive secretary of the Council, said his organisation remains committed to protecting the interests of users of shipping services in Nigeria.

Responding to allegations of inertia in the face of series of unauthorized levies imposed on shippers by terminal operators and ship owners, Bello explained that the justice system in the country works slowly, but expressed confidence that it will grind to justice for shippers.

The stakeholders had challenged the Council of being docile in its ombudsman role and championing the course of importers and agents against the terminal operators and shipping companies.

But reacting to the insinuation from the operators, Bello lamented that the slow dispensation of justice in Nigeria was responsible for the inability of the NSC to speedily resolve issues bordering on reversal of illegally collected charges.

NSC boss reiterated that the court of first jurisdiction had awarded a charge of N1 trillion against the duo for the excess charges collected from importers and agents within the period they increased terminal charges and shipping fees without due consultation with relevant agencies.

“The justice system is very slow. The court had determined at the first instance that the illegal levies amounted to over N1 trillion and money was to be paid to the system before it went to the Court of Appeal. While the case is still pending, the amount of the illegal levies collected so far is in the region of N7 trillion.

“Our hands are tied because they (terminal operators and shipping companies) went and obtained an injunction. But for every move they make, we also make counter moves.

“We are not the one that went to court, they took us to court. I do agree that the charges should be reviewed through consultation, and you have to activate the rules of engagement. You cannot charge unilaterally or arbitrarily and say this is my charge, it must be negotiated and approved by the authority,” Bello explained to the stakeholders.

Bello however stated that the Council is open to out of court settlement but added that the most important thing is for the operators to obey the laws of the country.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos had in a 2014 judgment declared that the Shipping Line Agency Charges (SLAC) levied and collected from Nigerian shippers by shipping companies since 2006 is illegal.

The Court therefore ruled that the shipping companies should account and pay to Nigerian shippers all monies or fees charged and collected since 2006 as SLAC from shippers or users of shipping/port related services from 2006 to date which runs into trillions of naira.

In a landmark judgment by Justice Buba Ibrahim, sitting at the Federal High Court, Lagos, in SUIT NO. FHC/CS/1646/2014 – ALRAINE SHIPPING AGENCIES (NIG) LTD & ORS Vs NIGERIAN SHIPPERS’ COUNCIL and SUIT NO. FHC/CS/1704/2014 – APAPA BULK TERMINAL LTD & ORS Vs NIGERIAN SHIPPERS’ COUNCIL, he affirmed the appointment of the Nigerian Shippers Council as the Economic Regulator of the Ports and dismissed the claims of shipping companies and the terminal operators.

Pursuant to the appointment of the Nigerian Shippers Council as the Economic Regulator of Nigerian ports by the federal government, in line with the executive powers of the president in February 2014, the NSC  issued notices to both the shipping companies and terminal operators to reverse all illegal charges levied on Nigerian shippers.

Dissatisfied, the shipping companies and the concessionaires filed an appeal against the council at the Appeal Court in Lagos in 2015.

FG Approves Intervention Vessels, Helicopters for NIMASA

Apparently determined to tackle the menace of piracy and other illicit crimes on the nation’s territorial waterways, the Federal Government has approved the procurement of three helicopters and 12 fast intervention vessels.

The security apparatus is procured to ensure coastal and aerial surveillance and patrol of the Nigerian maritime environment by the Nigerian Navy andNigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Speaking recently, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr.DakukuPeterside  assured Nigerians and the international maritime community that the Federal Government is leaving no stone unturned to combat the menace of piracy on the nation’s territorial water.

Dr.Peterside added that “while acknowledging the fact that piracy is a global problem which is not peculiar to one continent or country, the need for a concerted and coordinated approach in tackling the menace cannot be overstated.”

He equally debunked recent reports that piracy was on the increase in the Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea, noting that it is sad that some section of the media are manipulating statistics to the contrary. The truth he pointed out is that the reverse is the case as piracy has been reduced to the barest minimum.

Accordingly, he noted that inter agency and regional cooperation through bilateral agreements among others, as well as effective maritime domain awareness and strong maritime legislation to criminalise and punish piracy is fundamental in addressing the challenges.

Speaking further, Dr.Dakuku said in recognition of the aforementioned, the governments of the West and Central African Countries including Nigeria at the regional level, subscribed to the Continental Maritime Charter on maritime security, safety and development in Africa, in Lome, Togo on the 15th of October, 2016, to strengthen inter-Agency and transnational coordination and cooperation among member countries in the area of maritime domain awareness, fight against all forms of maritime crimes, prevention and control of pollution of the seas and to promote economic growth of the continent of Africa.

“In the area of inter agency cooperation, it is expedient to mention that NIMASA recently renewed its Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian Navy to strengthen collaboration between NIMASA and the Navy to enhance the safety and security of navigation in our waters as, well as leverage on the use of the Federal Government’s Falcon Eye Satellite systems domiciled with the Nigerian Navy including NIMASA’s Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems to respond to distress calls within Nigerian waters in order to prevent and adequately respond to threats within the Nigerian maritime environment,” the DG stated.

In order to bolster the aforementioned efforts of the Agency to ensure a virile maritime sector through a robust legislative framework to criminalise and punish piracy and other maritime crimes committed in our waters to serve as a deterrent to offenders; Nigeria has prepared a draft Anti-Piracy Bill to give effect to the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts at Sea, 1988 and it’s Protocol of 2005 to punish and deter piracy and other maritime crimes.

Speaking earlier, the Director, Legal Services of NIMASA Mr.Abdulsalam Suleiman also speaking, noted that the Agency is presently working with the Federal Ministry of Justice to finalise the Bill and has the assurances of the National Assembly of the expeditious passage of the Bill into law within the shortest possible time to strengthen the Country’s Anti piracy crusade.

“It is pertinent to draw attention to the fact that some of the interventions highlighted above are already yielding positive results and have been duly noted by the international community.

“Worthy of mention, is the just concluded Legal Committee meeting (LEG 104) of the IMO held in London from the 26th to 28th April 2017, where the issue of piracy around the globe was discussed and the Gulf of Guinea and Nigeria were not mentioned as one of the high risk areas.”

This lends credence to the fact that Nigeria through its maritime law enforcement agencies are working assiduously in confronting maritime insecurity challenges in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.

It could be recalled that as part of efforts by the Federal Government of Nigeria in demonstrating its commitment to fighting piracy and other maritime crimes, the sum of One Hundred and Eighty Six Million Dollars ($186, 000, 000. 00) was recently approved for maritime security infrastructure.

 Customs Conducts 100Percent Examination On Cargoes

Despite assurance by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to reduce clearing time and time it takes to import and export goods by 50 per cent, Customs commands still perform 100 percent examination on cargoes exiting the seaports.

The 100 percent examination conducted on examination was as a result of scanning machines that were faulty at the seaports and land borders.

It was gathered that in all the seaports, only one scanning machine is functional and at below capacity.

According to Customs Public Relations Officer, Joseph Attah, the NCS is now required to schedule and coordinate the Mandatory Joint Examinations and sign-off Form to ensure that there is only one point of contact between importers and officials.

Attah said in the Federal Government’s quest to make businesses work, the NCS joined other MDAs in making commitments towards delivering reforms that would progressively make it easier for businesses in Nigeria to start and thrive.

“Our commitments at the NCS are focused on “Trade Across Borders,” where a target was set to reduce import and export time by up to 50 percent, and ensure that import procedures adhere to international standards.

“One of the most crucial functions of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is the promotion and facilitation of trade and competitiveness. We will be the first to admit that the reality at the Nigerian ports is challenging and can be improved upon.

A visit to Lagos ports -Apapa and Tin-Can Island, showed that the various Customs commands perform 100 percent examination on cargoes.

Confirming this, the Public Relations Officer, Tin-Can Island command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), UcheEjiesieme said the command performed 100percent examination on consignments.

“What we are doing now because we don’t have scanners is to subject all declarations and transactions to 100percent examination no exception even if it’s one million containers we have enough officers to perform the examination.”

However, a former President, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Eugene Nweke has charged the service to invest on the acquisition of functional scanners across the nation’s seaports and border stations if it hopes to see a reduction in cargo clearance time at the port.

According to him, cargoes are being diverted to other port of neighbouring countries because of the enormous time spent in Customs control and not because of other agencies who may need to sign examination form.

“If they want to achieve that, scanners at the port should be operational and reduce the number of cargo that goes for physical examination. If we have more cargo going for scanning, all these delays will be reduced.

“They should invest and make the scanners at the port work. In as much as more number of cargoes are going through physical examination, there is no how we can achieve what they are talking about,” he said.

ICRC Lauds NPA management on PPP

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has commended the Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), on the success it had recorded in the areas of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) across board.

The Commission said the NPA had brought to bear the dividends of a most effective Administrative Management of the operational activities of the Organization in line with best practices particularly as it concerns developmental projects.

This was disclosed last week  when the top Executives of the ICRC visited the NPA Management in Lagos.

Speaking during the occasion, the Managing Director of the NPA, HadizaBalaUsman expressed the preparedness of the Management of the Organization at collaborating further with meaningful initiatives with the Government Agencies and globally with the view to joining the comity of Nations along the dictates of generating more revenue for the Country.

Similarly, she enlisted the support of the Commission in her quest for a regime of greater infrastructural sufficiency and customer satisfactory operations in the sector and in relations to activities in the sub-region.

The MD NPA further solicited guidance of the Commission in order to perform more creditably well in their mandate sighting fiscal challenges in relation to budgetary provisions as critical areas that require prioritization.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation Gabriel .T. Aduda affirmed that the Committee was a Federal Government entity set up to effectively assist the Public Private Partnerships (PPP’s) and Ministry Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) reduce the cost of corporate  governance and administration most especially on the execution of projects on going across the nation as captured in 2017 budget as well as come up with strategies within which Government would boost its revenue base to meet up with relative expenditure profile.

According to him, the Commissions responsibilities includes strategizing for the improvement for the civil service needs areas and recommend to Government accordingly concerning these for example as its concerns condition of service and remuneration.

He stated that Government was appreciative of the exploits of the NPA Management through the windows of Public Private Partnerships concerning the laid out operational business plans for Ikorodu Lighter Terminal, Kirikiri Lighter Terminal and the Single Window initiatives amongst other projects herewith not forgetting the Management efforts at Human Resource Development, Capacity Building and making a public document the budget of the Organization through a renowned synergy agreement with Messrs BudgIT.

Customs intercepts N1.7m rice, frozen chickens in Ogun

The Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service has claimed that it intercepted 258 cartons of frozen poultry product and 45 bags of 50KG of Foreign parboiled rice valued at N1.7m.

This was disclosed by the Public Relations Officer of the FOU, Zone A, Jerry Attah.

Attah said the Duty Paid Value (DPV) on the impounded consignments is N1.7m

“Our men who are on routine patrol around Sango Ota Ogun state intercepted 258 cartons of poultry products and 45 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice.The contraband after examination has a DPV of N1,685,500”

It could be recalled that officers of the service were recently attacked by smugglers for intercepting the above mentioned contraband.

One of the affected officers who said he escaped death by whisker said about five of his colleagues are missing in action.

The officer said they were on a routine patrol when they accosted and seized three vehicles laden with frozen chickens and foreign parboiled rice.

“We are on a routine patrol this morning (yesterday) when we saw three vehicles filled with poultry products and foreign parboiled rice. We impounded the vehicles and on our way to the office we were attacked by smugglers and a vehicle with frozen chickens which one of our Officer was driving was attacked and let loose.”

The officer who said that he escaped by whisker said his colleague who drove the contraband-laden vehicle had to take refuge at the nearest police station when he was attacked.

“One of the vehicles was rescued by the smugglers and one of our officers was the one driving it. He had to take refuge in a nearest police station else he would have been killed.”

Explaining further, on how the Customs vehicle was burnt, he said, “After taking the contraband to the office, the CG compliance team was on patrol when they ran into the mob and were attacked.”

He disclosed further that the officers who had no fore knowledge of the earlier incident were attacked and their vehicles burnt.

Terminal operators commend ports concessioning

The Federal Government has been commended for its foresight in concessioning terminal operations at the nation’s seaports.

Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Princess Vicky Haastrup, who gave the commendation, said the success of the ports concession programme, which was implemented in 2006, has made it a model for the consideration of other governments across the world to concession public infrastructure and also for Nigeria to extend the model to other sectors of the economy.

“What concessioning does is to free government resources for the provision of other social services to the people. Government remains the ultimate owner of the concessioned facilities but the private sector is mandated to develop and operate those facilities under agreed terms over a certain period.

“This is a worthy model, which has not only improved operations at our ports, but has also attracted commendation from within and outside the country.

“After Nigeria’s port concession, we now have countries like Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ghana and even Greece adopt our model. The Liberians and Ghanaians sent delegations to understudy our port concession model to develop theirs.

“Also recently, the Greek Government concessioned the Thessaloniki Port, which is one of its most important public infrastructure.

‘’This is a clear indication of our success as a nation in building models worthy of emulation by others.”

She also said that the Federal Government’s consideration for adopting the concession model for the railway and aviation sectors derive from the success of port concession.

“I have implicit confidence in the present government’s ability and commitment to the improvement of public infrastructure in the country and one is delighted to note that concessioning has become the model being adopted for both the railway and aviation sector reforms,” she said,

The STOAN chairman also commended the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for launching a Safety, Information, Operation and Communication Centre to enhance 24-hours operation at the port.

“The commissioning of this centre and the recent launch of four new tugboats by NPA will deepen reforms at the port. It will complement the efforts of terminal operators to make our ports competitive,” she said.

Before terminal operations were concessioned in 2006, Nigerian ports faced major challenges which placed them among the most inefficient in the world. Before concession, the average waiting time for ships before berthing was 21 days, vessel turnaround time was seven days while dwell time for cargo was as high as 45 days. Virtually all the major seaports across the country were heavily congested leading to insecurity and pilferage, delays in cargo clearance and inefficiencies in cargo handling largely due to manual processes.

As a result of the challenges, the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2006, concessioned cargo handling operations at the ports to 25 terminals operators under various lease agreements raging from 15 to 25 years.

The private terminal operators have since invested about $2billion in modernizing and upgrading their various terminals as well as in manpower development.

As a result of the huge investment, ship waiting time has ben eliminated to zero days while vessel turnaround time has also improved significantly based on cargo type.

Congestion at the various ports have also been eliminated resulting in a huge cost saving running into about N30 billion annually.

NPA, BPE to evolve framework for evaluation of port concessionaires

As the concession of seaports in Nigeria nears the mid- point, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have agreed to evolve the framework for evaluation of the ports concession agreements.

The agreement was part of the decisions reached when HadizaBalaUsman, Managing Director of NPA paid a courtesy visit to the Director General of BPE, Mr Alex A. Okoh, in Abuja.

Okohexpressed the Bureau’s support for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in its effort to ensure efficient service delivery in Nigerian ports.

According to a statement issued by the head public communications of BPE, ChukwumaNwokoh, they reviewed the maritime industry and discussed the infrastructural challenges at the ports and the ways to address them.

They both expressed optimism that the Reform Bills, especially the Ports and Harbour Bill and National Transport Commission Bill which are currently receiving attention at the National Assembly, would optimize operations at the ports. The two bills when enacted into law would strengthen the technical and economic regulatory framework in the maritime industry.

In his remark, Okoh stated that the Bureau would constantly liaise with the NPA to ensure that the concessionaires keep to the terms of the agreements they signed with the government and also to ensure that the agreements that are due for review are done expeditiously.

The BPE boss said that this has become necessary in order to enhance efficiency and service delivery at Nigerian ports.

Speaking earlier, the NPA boss said that synergy between both agencies would ensure an all encompassing review process of the ports concession agreements. While stressing the strategic position of the maritime sector in the nation’s economy and the enormous prospects it presents for economic growth, she maintained that inter-agency collaboration was one sure way to harness the potentials.

The House of Representatives had in April passed the National Transport Commission Bill. In the words of the Bill, its main objective is “to provide efficient economic regulatory framework for the transport sector, mechanism for monitoring compliance of government agencies, transport service providers and users in the regulated transport industry with relevant legislation and to advise government on matters relating to economic regulation of the regulated transport industry”

Nigeria set to return to International Maritime Organisation Council

Nigeria’s chances of returning to the council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), has greatly improved with the recent efforts of the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration led by the Director General, Dr. DakukuPeterside, to bring the country back to leadership position in global maritime community latter this year, Nigeria’s Alternate Permanent Representative (APR) at the IMO, AlhajiDikoBalla has said.

MrBalla who stated this while speaking at the Nigerian IMO office in London, noted that the steps taken by the present NIMASA management, has led to a great improvement of the country’s relationship with the IMO as a body and other Maritime Administrations who are members of the international body. The move is in line with President MuhammaduBuhari drive to integrate the nation back into global affairs.

He noted that “Nigeria was amongst the first ten (10) countries from the over 170 member nations of the IMO to submit itself for the IMO Member States Audit Scheme, IMSAS, this is seen as a show of direction of the current administration of maritime in Nigeria by the IMO, adding that the IMO Secretary General Mr Kitack Lim was pleased when the Minister of Transportation Honorable RotimiAmaechi informed him that the findings and observations of the IMO Member States Audit Scheme of Nigeria was being studied with a view to preparing and implementing Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) within the stipulated time frame”.

Speaking further, the APR noted that IMO considers the issue of Piracy as top priority and that the maritime community, particularly the IMO is pleased with Nigeria for taking the fight against Piracy and robbery at sea to new levels with the Anti-Piracy bill push parliament.

In his words “The achievements of the Dr. DakukuPeterside led Management at NIMASA in the past one year is an indication that the nation’s maritime sector is heading in the right direction.  And the fact that the IMO is collaborating with Nigeria much more in the area of trainings and technical support shows that the international body is satisfied with NIMASA operations in recent times. By November this year, I can assure you that Nigeria’s election into the Category “C” at IMO will be an overwhelming one.”

Commenting on the implementation of the International Ships and Ports facility Security ISPS Code, Mr. Bala noted that the fact that Nigeria is now in the category of countries considered as most successful in its implementation is a welcome development to both the IMO and other stakeholders in the maritime sector.

” You will recall that when we lost our seat in Council in 2011, our implementation status was less than 13%. Today we have over 85% compliance level, so you can see that the international community is watching and appreciating our efforts” he said.

Speaking further, the Nigerian APR said that the IMO is prepared to support Maritime Administrations in Africa in combating security challenges, and in building human capacity equipped to implement, monitor and enforce international instrument.

Commenting on the recent conference of Association of African Maritime Administration AAMA,which was hosted by Nigeria, Mr Bala noted that the IMO has restated her commitment to support, when possible, regular meetings of Heads of Maritime Administrations in Africa, at frequencies to be determined by the continental body.

The Nigerian Alternate Permanent Representative to the IMO noted that the Body is satisfied with the decision of the continental body to encourage regional cooperation and coordination amongst member nations to enhance information sharing and regulatory governance among members which according to the IMO has the potentials to assist in combating the menace of piracy and other maritime crimes while maintaining a balance between security and the facilitation of global trade.

It would be recalled that all member countries of the Association of African Maritime Administration at their 3^rd conference which took place in Abuja recently, agreed to address the challenges of building human capacities in the maritime sector, by developing an integrated human resources strategy to support the provision of skills taking into account gender balance in the entire maritime value chain which includes shipping and logistics, offshore activities, fishing, tourism and recreation, as well as safety and security.