Ex-NIMASA DG to FG: Time now to develop maritime transport

WITH THE AFRICAN CON TINENTAl Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) about to pick up, a former director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Mfong Usoro, has advised the fedare

eral government to begin concrete policy programmes to develop the country’s maritime transportation.

The renowned maritime legal expert explained that trading within the confines of AfCFTA as trading between countries involves shipping by land or water, maintaining that the success of the manufacturing sector depends on transportation.

She therefore, charged the Nigerian government to unlock the nation’s maritime potential.

She said, “While we may be talking so much about manufacturing sector with reference to AfCFTA, we tend to forget that the manufacturing sector depends very much on maritime transportation. The equipment that needed in the energy sector for instance are moved by ship on water and same thing is applicable to agricultural machineries.

“So, the government needs to make our ports the preferred port in the region now more than ever before. We all know and realise that the majority of cargoes that are being discharged in the neighbouring countries are destined for Nigeria.

“The question then, is why does it make economic sense for the importers and shipping companies to use other ports to bring goods that are destined for Nigeria rather than coming straight to Nigeria? For me, this means that there is still something that is not too right with our port system. So, government should now,

more than ever, look at the port system to position the nation’s ports as ports of choice in the region.”