By Uzor Odigbo
National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents President, Lucky Amiwero, has said that the federal government of Nigeria does not have the power to withdraw its earlier approval for the release of $209m and N32b to Nigerian investors in the maritime industry under the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) scheme, reports TheNiche
Amiwero who stated this while speaking at a media briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, September 28, as part of activities to mark his 68th birthday celebration, said that the government, as well as the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, do not have the right to stop it as “it is not their money.”
“It is not for government, it is money allocated to Nigerian shippers. You cannot withdraw it, which is the law. When you look at the provision of that Act, it is very clear; ‘Nigerian shippers’. Under sections 16 and 17, there is what we call the maritime fund. The maritime funds are for Nigerian shippers, but who has benefitted?
“I told the former DG of NIMASA that you have a law; you are collecting money for yourself and not giving it to ship owners. I pointed this out to them in the law, but still, they haven’t followed it. That law is for Nigerian shippers, not for federal government. If we don’t fight things, we cannot get it. It is not the government’s money and the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi does not have the right to stop it,” he said.
He also criticised the trend adopted by the present administration, whereby politicians who know nothing about the maritime industry are appointed into key positions to head offices they have no business running.
According to him, the Nigerian ports system should take a cue from neighbouring West African countries like Ghana that run their ports devoid of politics; and that only experts who have experience in the field and can deliver should be given such jobs in order to develop the sector at the right pace.
“We have a problem, and it is that problem of not bringing experts to run the port. If you look at the port in this regime, there is no expert. When President Obasanjo came, what he did was reform. I sat in almost 97 committees during his regime and it was about reforms that made the difference. He brought in experts. All the people who are experts that we know in the system today were through Obasanjo; the likes of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Oby Ezekwesili, Dora Akunyili, Nasir El-Rufai, Nuhu Ribadu, and so on,” he explained.
The NCMDLCA boss described the much attention being paid to revenue collection by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as a misplaced priority. According to him, modern customs administrations focus on economic security and trade facilitation that will be beneficial to all players in the value chain and citizens.
“There is nowhere in the world where you hear customs boasting about how they made huge revenue. It doesn’t make sense claiming to collect big revenue while your economy is dying. Efforts should be made to promote trade and expand citizens’ opportunities by protecting their overall economic interests. Most of these enforcement regimes being pursued by customs will be relaxed when the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) fully takes course in Nigeria,” he said.
He added that the government has not done much to instil enduring legislation that will improve the maritime industry for overall growth of the economy.
Amiwero who cited the Nigeria Shippers Council Act as a law enacted for the protection of Shippers, said events in recent times demand that the NSC law be amended to give it the powers it presently wields. He said that Ghana has moved on to amend its shippers’ council law and evolved into what is presently known as Ghana Shippers Authority with enabling laws to meet present day demands.
Commenting on Nigeria’s upcoming 61 years independence anniversary, Amiwero said that the country has not lived up to expectations as a maritime country, as the present administration has eroded some gains achieved by previous regimes.
He posited that to improve the sector and country, a complete overhaul and review of policies like the ongoing border closure and unfriendly tariff that has made ports of neighbouring countries more attractive than Nigeria is needed.
“We have to make sure we change our system. You are closing borders, which is wrong. Go and do an MOU like what America has done. Go to Togo for example, sit down with their minister and tell them to be in charge of anything coming out of their country and that they will be held responsible. That is what we call mutual administrative assistance on customs matters and trans-border crimes.
It is there, and that is what other countries are doing, nobody closed their border. You talk and write about these things but nobody listens,” he said